• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 2 hours GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 5 hours How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 7 hours If hydrogen is the answer, you're asking the wrong question
  • 4 days Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 5 days The European Union is exceptional in its political divide. Examples are apparent in Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Netherlands, Belarus, Ireland, etc.
  • 20 hours Biden's $2 trillion Plan for Insfrastructure and Jobs
  • 4 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)
OPEC Remains Upbeat About Oil Demand

OPEC Remains Upbeat About Oil Demand

OPEC remains optimistic that the…

What Does Putin’s Re-Election Mean for the World?

What Does Putin’s Re-Election Mean for the World?

Vladimir Putin's reelection will lead…

Tesla Stops Accepting Bitcoin As Payment

Less than two months after Tesla’s Elon Musk said the company will be accepting bitcoin as payment for EVs, the company’s CEO did a U-turn, tweeting that Tesla will no longer accept the cryptocurrency because of its carbon footprint.

In the tweet, Musk said the company was concerned about the amount of energy bitcoin mining used, citing “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.”

That bitcoin mining and transactions are energy-intensive activities is no secret: a recent report in the New Scientist said that in China alone, bitcoin mining will require 297 terrawatt/hours of energy by 2024 and account for 5.4 percent of the country’s electricity-related emissions at some 130 million tons of carbon dioxide.

In his tweet, Musk noted that cryptocurrencies were a good idea “on many levels”, with a great future ahead, but made a note of saying that “this cannot come at great cost to the environment.”

Tesla, he said, will not be selling any bitcoin but will use the crypto for transactions when its mining became more environmentally friendly. In the meantime, Tesla will look into other cryptocurrencies that have lower carbon footprints, the tweet also said.

Tesla became a major swing factor for the price of bitcoin after buying $1.5 billion worth of the currency earlier this year as part of investment diversification plans.

“In January 2021, we updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity. As part of the policy, we may invest a portion of such cash in certain specified alternative reserve assets,” the company said in a regulatory filing in February. In the same filing, Tesla mentioned for the first time the possibility that it would start accepting bitcoin as payment for its cars.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

ADVERTISEMENT

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:



Join the discussion | Back to homepage



Leave a comment

Leave a comment

EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News