- Bitcoin dropped to $46,000 overnight after Tesla stopped taking it for car purchases
- Founder Elon Musk criticized Bitcoin’s environmental impact
- The company will not give up its bitcoin holdings
Bitcoin dropped to $46,000 overnight after Tesla stopped accepting the cryptocurrency for cars citing its environmental impact, although it will continue to hold the bitcoin it currently holds. Founder Elon Musk posted a statement on his Twitter page in which he said that the company denounced the “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels” used to mine Bitcoin and said it was looking at more energy-efficient alternatives, news that delighted the anti-Bitcoin media outlets and raises suggestions of hypocrisy from Musk on multiple levels.
Musk Bitcoin Relationship Sours
The news is the latest twist in Musk’s strange fixation with cryptocurrencies, and once again proved his ability to move the markets with one tweet. It also raises more questions than it answers. Firstly, where is Musk getting data that says that Bitcoin’s use of fossil fuels is “rapidly increasing”? If anything it is decreasing because of the move toward more energy efficient mining practices.
Secondly, did Musk not know about Bitcoin’s creation process when the company bought $1.5 billion worth in January? Nothing has changed since, suggesting that Musk threw $1.5 billion at Bitcoin without knowing what he was buying.
Thirdly, if Bitcoin is so bad, then why are he and Tesla not selling all of their holdings? To openly criticize something with one hand and hold a large quantity of it with the other makes him and Tesla the worst kinds of hypocrite.
Fourthly, if Musk is so concerned about the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies, why is he pedalling Dogecoin to the point of obsession, which, like Bitcoin, uses a proof-of-work consensus mechanism involving energy-intensive mining?
Latest Twist in a Strange Tale
The entire episode suggests that Musk went into the entire Bitcoin escapade without any prior research or indeed any real knowledge of what he was buying, which seems to sum up the way he approaches certain aspects of his life. It wouldn’t be a surprise if next week he announced that the whole thing was a joke and Tesla is accepting bitcoin, or dogecoin, after all.
