Will Tesla accept Bitcoin again? Elon Musk says yes

Elon Musk says Tesla will “probably” accept Bitcoin again. The news was dropped during “The B Word”, an event focused on cryptocurrencies.

Will Tesla accept Bitcoin again?

Once again, Elon Musk is making waves in the cryptocurrency market. Apparently, Tesla will accept Bitcoin again, according to the controversial billionaire.

The billionaire returned to talk about the intentions of Tesla going back to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a form of payment for car purchases.

In June, Musk had already stated that Tesla intended to return to accepting BTC as a form of payment once the cryptocurrency gathered evidence that at least 50% of all its global mining is done with clean energy. The statement came after the CEO was accused of manipulating the crypto market.

Did you see?

Elon Musk is catching flak again, but what’s it for this time? Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka lambasted him saying “What we have seen with Bitcoin is price manipulation by one very powerful and influential individual.” https://t.co/W5WYgGnKPR

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) June 13, 2021

This time, Musk spoke again about Tesla changing its current policy and accept Bitcoin again. The announcement was made during the cryptocurrency event, “The B Word”. During the event, moderated by Steve Lee, Musk was quite optimistic – including about the energy use of bitcoins. Tesla fans are waiting eagerly for the car maker to accept Bitcoin again.

Elon Musk: “Bitcoin mining is moving towards renewable energy”

The event interview started with Musk citing what piqued his interest in Bitcoin. In the billionaire’s opinion, the digital asset would be an improvement to the “information system” that supports the economy as a whole.

Asked about scalability topics, Tesla’s CEO admitted that while he wants to consider larger block sizes for Bitcoin, he believes a well-implemented second tier, like lightning, will allow it to scale to become the world’s currency.

Turning to energy use, Musk again explained the initial reason why Tesla does not accept Bitcoin anymore, referring to an increasing use of fossil fuels.

“I want to do a broader search to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy use [from Bitcoin mining] is 50% or more, and that there is a trend toward increasing that figure”.

Despite the fact that Tesla no longer accepts Bitcoin, Musk said cryptocurrencies are “a good idea on different levels” and that he believes there is a “promising future”, but that this cannot happen “at large costs to the environment”.

The billionaire also stated that Tesla would not dispose of the bitcoins already acquired, and that this reserve would be used “as soon as the mines are more energetically sustainable”.

In addition, Musk said Bitcoin mining is moving towards renewable energy due to the closure of many coal plants in China.

He said his desire is to take further steps to confirm that energy use is at or above 50% renewable and establish that this trend continues, but he also said Tesla will likely accept Bitcoin again in the near future.

“I believe that in the long run, renewable energy will actually be the cheapest form of energy, but it just doesn’t happen overnight. But as long as there is a long-term trend towards the community’s use of renewable energy, Tesla can support it”, declared Elon Musk.

Musk effect: Tesla, Bitcoin and the enviroment

Musk, who until the beginning of this year was one of the big Bitcoin enthusiasts, said in May that Tesla would no longer accept BTC as a form of payment because of the effects of the mining process on nature.

Tesla & Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/YSswJmVZhP

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2021

In his tweets, Musk even released a graph of energy consumption by Bitcoin in recent months, something he considers “insane”.

Energy usage trend over past few months is insane https://t.co/E6o9s87trw pic.twitter.com/bmv9wotwKe

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2021

After its declaration, the Bitcoin price plunged more than 10% and the asset started to be valued at approximately $48,200.

Already after the recent statement that Tesla will likely return to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, the digital asset recorded a high of 5.9%, being quoted at $31.6 thousand.

Thus, the strong influence of the so-called “Musk Effect” is clear.