American electric car manufacturer Tesla, owned by businessman and tycoon Elon Musk, now allows its customers to pay for their cars with Bitcoin, announcing that the BTC received as payment will be kept in HODL.
Elon Musk, the magnate owner of Tesla and SpaceX, continues his bet with Bitcoin and the cryptocurrencies, , announcing that the US-based electric car company has begun accepting payments with Bitcoin (BTC), the most valuable cryptocurrency on the markets today.
On his Twitter account, Musk wrote “You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin,” provoking different reactions and awakening different emotions throughout the crypto community.
Musk also stated that Tesla has its own internal, open-source software that allows it to operate Bitcoin nodes directly, so any BTC received as payment for its cars will be held as Bitcoin, and will not be converted to any fiat currency. Thus, Tesla intends to begin HODLing Bitcoin, keeping the cryptocurrency as an asset for storing value in the medium and long term.
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Starting with the United States
The company announced that Bitcoin payments are enabled only for purchases in the United States, while payments with the cryptocurrency in other parts of the world will be activated later this year and perhaps early next year.
In less than a month, Tesla has activated the new payment option. In February of this year, the electric car company revealed a significant investment in Bitcoin, 1.500 million, which gave it control over around 33.000 to 43.000 BTC. At the time, Tesla also announced that it was looking into meeting the demands and requirements of its customers by integrating Bitcoin as a means of payment for its products.
From 0,8 BTC for a Tesla model
Prices for Tesla electric cars vary, and depend mainly on the model and the characteristics of the car itself. For example, the Tesla Model S costs approximately $76.000, which is equivalent to about 1,33 BTC according to the price of the cryptocurrency, which was quoted on the markets at $56.800 at the time of Tesla's announcement. On the other hand, the Tesla Model Y costs approximately 0,8 BTC, while the Purchase Price would have an average cost of 1,8 BTC.
Tesla has been betting on the world's most popular cryptocurrency for some time now. At the moment, this is the only cryptocurrency that the company accepts as a means of payment. Meanwhile, its owner, Elon Musk, is known for his constant posts on the social network, where he has been accused of manipulating the cryptocurrency markets by simply posting or sending messages.
Musk has been very supportive of Dogecoin (DOGE), the internet meme token, though for a time he tweeted “#bitcoin,” causing the cryptocurrency’s value to skyrocket within minutes.
At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $52.200, down roughly 15% from its all-time high of $61.711 on March 13.
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