In a sudden turn of events, Tesla has stopped accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for online orders for its cars. The reason for dropping Bitcoin is due to the environmental concerns around mining and processing the cryptocurrency.
Tesla Stops Accepting Bitcoin
In a statement released on Twitter, Elon Musk announced that Tesla has suspended the use of Bitcoin as a payment method for vehicle purchases.
Musk has made this decision out of concern about the increasing amounts of fossil fuels being used for both Bitcoin mining and transaction processing.
Given that Tesla produces electric cars, we know that environmental concerns are high on the company’s agenda. It seems fitting for the company to continue its actions in supporting its environmental impact.
For those people looking to order a Tesla vehicle online, you can still use all of its other payment methods, as it’s only the use of Bitcoin that has been suspended. Bitcoin was only accepted as a payment method online, so there are no changes for those ordering a vehicle from a Tesla showroom.
Tesla & Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/YSswJmVZhP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2021
This decision comes just a few weeks after Musk announced that Tesla would accept Bitcoin. After investing in the cryptocurrency, the company then made the move to allow customers to pay with the coin on its website.
Also in the statement, Musk mentions that Tesla is considering supporting other cryptocurrencies that use much less energy than Bitcoin. Musk has been a vocal supporter of Dogecoin and asked if Tesla should support the coin, so many Tesla fans have begun to speculate whether the company will accept Doge for payments instead.
How Bad Is Bitcoin for the Environment?
Bitcoin requires energy for both mining and processing transactions. A large amount of this energy comes from fossil fuels. Bitcoin is powered by the blockchain, and gets mined by computers running intensive tasks.
The systems used to mine any meaningful amount of Bitcoin need to be very powerful, and often contain multiple computers. Many miners also use cooling systems to make sure their mining systems perform as well as possible. All of this power requires a lot of energy.
Most energy that powers residential and business premises comes from the burning of fossil fuels. This is the least environmentally friendly way of producing energy when compared to other methods.
A recent study (as cited by Digiconimist) estimates that Bitcoin uses as much energy as some countries.
Per year the currency uses the same amount of electrical energy as the Netherlands, producing as much e-waste as Luxembourg, and with the same carbon footprint as Singapore.
Per transaction, Bitcoin uses roughly the same amount of energy as it takes to power the average US household for almost 40 days.
“See You Soon Crypto”
In the announcement itself, Musk made it clear that Tesla isn’t done with crypto. The company will revisit accepting crypto as a payment method when mining transitions to use more sustainable methods of energy.
Given that Musk has shown himself to be a personal supporter of crypto many times, it’s even more likely that Tesla will come back to crypto payments further down the line. So, it isn’t “Buh-Bye” to crypto so much as “See you soon”.