Tesla Begins Accepting Bitcoin Payments

Tesla Inc 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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