--- title: "Tesla Reveals Plan to Sell Cars With Bitcoin" description: "Hidden in Tesla's 2020 annual report was an announcement that the electric carmaker will soon accept Bitcoin as payment for its electric vehicles." date: "2021-02-08" modified: "2021-02-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-plan-sell-cars-bitcoin" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" tags: - "bitcoin" - "cryptocurrencies" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Reveals Plan to Sell Cars With Bitcoin ![Hidden in Tesla's 2020 annual report was an announcement that the electric carmaker will soon accept Bitcoin as payment for its electric vehicles.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Crypto Tesla Buried in Tesla's 2020 annual report was an announcement that the electric carmaker will soon accept Bitcoin as payment for its electric vehicles, [*Reuters* reports](). The company also announced that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of the digital currency. Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been singing the praises of dogecoin, a dog-themed "alt-coin" cryptocurrency, via his Twitter account. "It's the most fun crypto!" he wrote in a [Sunday tweet](). The carmaker's sizeable investment in the volatile currency is a big deal, as the company is one of the [most valuable]() car companies in the world. "One of the largest companies in the world now owns Bitcoin and by extension, every investor that owns Tesla (or even just an S&P 500 fund) has exposure to it as well," Eric Turner, VC at cryptocurrency research and data firm Messari, told *Reuters*. ## Bitcoin Guy During an appearance on the social media Clubhouse last week, [Musk said]() that he is a "supporter of bitcoin," adding that he thinks the currency "is on the verge of getting broad acceptance by conventional finance people." The financial world has been slow to support cryptocurrencies. That's in large part due to their unpredictable and highly volatile nature. The number of bitcoin required to buy a Tesla could end up varying wildly over just a 24 hour period, making it an unconventional payment method, particularly for larger purchases such a car. The same would go for financed car payments. But as of right now, the value of bitcoin is responding positively to Musk's endorsements. The value of a single bitcoin surged to a record high of $43,625 following Tesla's announcement. **READ MORE:** [Musk's Tesla electrifies bitcoin with $1.5 billion bet, car payments pledge]() \[*Reuters*\] **More on Tesla:** *[Xbox Exec Suggests “Tesla x Halo” Collaboration]()* ## 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]()