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Elon Musk has been pushing the use of Bitcoin at Tesla, delighting cryptocurrency enthusiasts across the globe.
Just last week, the company announced that it will begin accepting Bitcoin as a payment option for customers to make their payments online.
Users will now notice a new button on the Tesla.com website, allowing users to check out and pay via their Bitcoin wallet balance.
As of now, this new payment option is only available for customers in the United States, with plans to introduce it to customers outside the country later this year.
In the event of a refund, customers will also be given the choice to receive reimbursements in the form of fiat currency (US Dollar) or Bitcoin.
Earlier last week, CEO Elon Musk mentioned that the company will be utilizing "internal and open source software" for accepting payments, and that Tesla "operates bitcoin nodes independently".
The move of accepting cryptocurrency payments is not new in the market, as a slew of major companies such as Twitch, Etsy, Rakuten, Whole Foods, Starbucks, and PayPal have already begun allowing customers to pay for their services with Bitcoin.
By leveraging on Bitcoin, Tesla could potentially benefit from the price swings of cryptocurrency relative to fiat currencies, further increasing their earnings while cushioning their losses on refunds.
Just last month, Tesla invested $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, further driving the price and volatility up.
“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. 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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