--- title: "Elon Musk Says He Would Take a Salary in Bitcoin" description: "Responding to writer Ben Mezrich, who said that he's \"never turning down getting paid in bitcoin again\" in a Friday tweet, Musk replied with \"me neither.\"" date: "2021-01-11" modified: "2021-01-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-salary-bitcoin" categories: - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "bitcoin" - "cryptocurrency" - "elon musk" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Says He Would Take a Salary in Bitcoin ![Responding to writer Ben Mezrich, who said that he's "never turning down getting paid in bitcoin again" in a Friday tweet, Musk replied with "me neither."]() *\Image: Image via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\* ## Blockchain Boy It's been days since [*Bloomberg* declared]() Elon Musk to be [the richest person on Earth](), surpassing even Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with an estimated net worth north of $200 billion. Now, the billionaire has an idea on how to make some extra cash — [not that he'd probably need it](). Responding to writer Ben Mezrich, who said that he's "never turning down getting paid in bitcoin again" in a Friday tweet, Musk [replied]() with "me neither." Musk's remark, which appears to imply that he'd be happy to get paid in bitcoin, comes after the cryptocurrency ballooned to a value of over $40,000, setting new all-time records. In March last year, for perspective, one bitcoin was worth [only $5,000](). ## Bitcoin Bubble Ironically, two days after Musk's tweet, bitcoin [slid a devastating 21 percent]() from Sunday into Monday, the biggest two-day drop since March, as [*Bloomberg* reports](). Arguably, it's the perfect illustration of the internet money's continuing shortcomings as an actual unit of currency. "Time to take some money off the table," Guggenheim global chief investment officer Scott Minerd [tweeted]() following the plunge early this morning. ## Backup Plan Even if Musk were to take his salary in the form of bitcoin going forward, he'd still have of cash and stocks left over to live out a lavish lifestyle (or head to Mars). But that's not the case for anybody. Gambling away your earnings on volatile cryptocurrencies is inherently risky — but then again, chances are Musk is perfectly aware of that. **More on Musk:** *[Elon Musk Is Now The Richest Person In The World]()* ## 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]()