--- title: "You Can Now Officially Buy a Tesla With Bitcoin" description: "Tesla has officially started to accept Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles in the US, according to CEO Elon Musk." date: "2021-03-24" modified: "2021-03-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/buy-tesla-bitcoin" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" tags: - "bitcoin" - "cryptocurrency" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # You Can Now Officially Buy a Tesla With Bitcoin ![Tesla has officially started to accept Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles in the US, according to CEO Elon Musk.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Bitcoin Tesla Tesla has officially started to accept Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles in the US. "You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin," CEO Elon Musk [announced on Twitter]() early this morning. "Tesla is using only internal and open source software and operates Bitcoin nodes directly." Indeed, the checkout page to buy a car on the company's site now includes a Bitcoin option. Musk [also promised]() that "pay by Bitcoin capability" will be "available outside US later this year." The news comes after the electric carmaker [purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin]() back in February. "Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency," Musk added in his tweet this morning. ## Fobby Digital It's an interesting new development for a company that prides itself on offering its customers a greener alternative to gas-guzzling combustion engine vehicles. Mining Bitcoin remains an extremely environmentally unfriendly process. Globally, the digital currency accounts for the [carbon emissions of an entire country](). Bitcoin's value is also highly volatile, making it an unusual way to make a large purchase. In other words, future customers could soon be put in the position of having grossly overpaid — or underpaid — for their Tesla. Buyer's beware: Tesla notes in its [terms and conditions]() that "bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed" and that "if you input the bitcoin address incorrectly, your bitcoin may be irretrievably lost or destroyed." Musk sees a bright future ahead for digital currencies. During a February appearance on Clubhouse, [he stated]() that he was a "supporter of bitcoin," adding that he thinks the currency "is on the verge of getting broad acceptance by conventional finance people." **READ MORE:** [You can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin in the US]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on Tesla:** *[Watch Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Mode Steer Toward Oncoming Highway Traffic]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()