Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk has announced that people in the United States can now buy a Tesla using Bitcoin.
Musk said on Twitter that Tesla is using only internal and open-source software and operates Bitcoin nodes directly.
The Bitcoin paid to Tesla to purchase a vehicle will be retained as Bitcoin, and not converted to fiat currency.
People outside the U.S. will be able to buy a Tesla with bitcoin “later this year,” Musk said, without specifying which countries.
Earlier this year Musk helped to boost the Bitcoin price after he declared he was a supporter of the largest cryptocurrency.
“Bitcoin is really on the verge of getting broad acceptance by conventional finance people,” adds Musk.
Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said in a research note Wednesday that his firm wasn’t expecting Tesla to start accepting bitcoin payments until the second half of this year.
“This is a seminal moment for Tesla and for the crypto world with Musk now cutting the red ribbon on Bitcoin transactions within he broader Tesla ecosystem,” said Ives. “We expect less than 5% of transactions to be through bitcoin over the next 12 to 18 months however this could move higher over time as crypto acceptance starts to ramp over the coming years.”
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