Elon Musk's Tesla Accepts Bitcoin Payment; Crypto Value Now Spikes!

Lee Mercado, Tech Times 24 March 2021, 04:03 am

Tesla Recalls Over 100,000 Model S Vehicles — (Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images) CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 30: A Tesla dealership offers cars for sale on March 30, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Tesla has announced it is recalling 123,000 of its Model S sedans due to a problem with power steering bolts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A Tesla vehicle is displayed in a Manhattan dealership — (Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announces that the world's leading EV maker has started accepting the world's largest cryptocurrency - Bitcoin.

The official announcement makes Tesla the first major car manufacturer to start accepting cryptocurrency as a mode of payment.

You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021

The news allows Bitcoin holders to buy Tesla's offerings from this day on, including the Model 3, Model X, Model S, Model Y, Cybertruck, and others.

In a barrage of tweets posted on Wednesday, March 24, Musk said that Tesla is directly operating its own Bitcoin nodes using internal and open-source software.

He added that Bitcoin payments will also be made available outside the U.S. and that all payments made to Tesla will not be converted to fiat currency.

Pay by Bitcoin capability available outside US later this year
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021

The news comes after Tesla converted $1.5 Billion to Bitcoin in February 2021 and hinted at its intention to accept cryptocurrency as an alternative payment.

Also Read: Elon Musk Tesla Bitcoin Purchase Comes From This CEO's Idea on Twitter

Tesla's move also paved the way to legitimize the use of cryptocurrency, with Musk calling BitCoin a "good thing."

According to Finance Magnate's report, Bitcoin's price jumped to nearly 5% following Musk's announcement.

As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading near $56,000, and its total market cap exceeds $1 trillion.

Since 2021, Bitcoin adoption significantly increased after companies worldwide opened their doors to cryptocurrency as a mode of payment.

According to a February 2021 report from Crypto.com, the number of cryptocurrency owners globally jumped by 15.7% since January 2021.

The move was due to the rising demand for Bitcoin and significant growth in the DeFi sector.

The report also mentioned that PayPal's announcement to open up crypto services, as well as "massive institutional adoption and facilitation of cryptocurrencies," may have driven the DeFi's accelerated growth.