On February 19, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the company's supercharging station would take cryptocurrency Dogecoin as payment.
"Of course, you can pay in Ðoge (sic), "said Musk in response to a tweet from Tesla Console creator Ryan Zohoury, who stated that the new Santa Monica Superchargers were nearly full minutes after opening. Following this, Dogecoin's price increased,
trading at 11.1635, up 3.22 percent.
This comes just days after Musk stated that Tesla Inc. products, like the "Cyberwhistle" and "Cyberquad for Kids," will be available using Dogecoin.
Musk announced in December that Tesla would try to accept Dogecoin as payment for items.
Tesla's CEO, a prominent proponent of Dogecoin on
social media, has previously hinted at the move. In addition, multiple reports said that Tesla's website source code had a Dogecoin payment option in the last few days. In a recent interview, he also promoted Dogecoin over any other cryptocurrency.
"The transaction value of Bitcoin is low, and the cost per transaction is high. At least at a space level, it is suitable as a store of value. But fundamentally, Bitcoin is not a good substitute for transactional currency, "
-Elon Musk Tesla CEO
adding that even though Dogecoin was created as a silly joke, it is better suited for transactions.
Musk was a big supporter of digital currencies at work, and he played a significant role in making Dogecoin popular.
Meanwhile, Musk stated last year that Bitcoin mining has been shifting "toward
renewable energy sources." "his business would almost certainly reintroduce cryptocurrency as a method of payment for its electric vehicles.
Musk said that hydropower, geothermal, and nuclear energy are all excellent energy sources for Bitcoin mining. If mining uses 50% or more renewable energy, Tesla will accept Bitcoin again.
Tesla stopped buying Bitcoin in May 2021 because it was worried about the fossil fuel used in mining. This led to a drop in the
value of digital currency.
In a tweet Thursday, he expressed concern over the "huge use" of coal and other carbon-intensive energy sources to generate the electricity required for cryptocurrency mining.
In February of last year, Tesla said that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and planned to accept it as payment. This caused both the company's stock and the Bitcoin value to rise.