Tesla Begins Accepting Bitcoin Payments
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk announced Wednesday that the automaker has begun accepting payments for its vehicles with Bitcoin (BTC).
What Happened: The entrepreneur also said that Tesla will retain the paid apex cryptocurrency as BTC and will not convert it into fiat.
“Tesla is using only internal & open source software & operates Bitcoin nodes directly,” wrote Musk on Twitter.
You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021
The capability to pay with BTC would be available for customers outside in the United States later this year, according to Musk.
See Also: Should you Buy a Tesla with BTC?
BTC traded 3.99% higher at $55,652.99 at press time. The cryptocurrency is trading 9.81% below its all-time high of $61,683.86 which it touched on Mar. 13, 2021.
Why It Matters: Tesla had invested $1.5 billion in BTC in February. At that time the company had said that it would begin accepting the cryptocurrency as a payment option on a limited basis in the near future.
Musk frequently tweets about cryptocurrency, particularly Dogecoin (DOGE). This month “Shark Tank” billionaire Mark Cuban said his basketball team — The Mavericks — began accepting DOGE as payment.
Price Action: Tesla shares closed nearly 1.2% lower at $662.16 on Tuesday.
See Also: Is Elon Musk's Influence On Dogecoin Price Waning?
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