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| Tesla no longer accepts bitcoins to buy cars |
According to CEO Elon Musk's statement on Twitter, Tesla has stopped accepting cryptocurrency as a method of payment for its cars, fearing an increase in fossil fuel consumption.
The US electric car manufacturer started accepting bitcoin in late March.
Musk also said: Tesla will no longer sell the $ 1.5 billion of bitcoin shares it bought earlier this year.
Tesla sold Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2021, which helped improve the company's quarterly earnings.
The statement said that Tesla said that once the bitcoin mining operation turned to more sustainable energy sources, it would accept Bitcoin again (and was considering selling more Bitcoin).
The company is also looking for other cryptocurrencies that use less than 1% of Bitcoin's transaction capacity, and Tesla has failed to confirm that it will accept Bitcoin for transactions.
"Cryptocurrencies are a good idea in many ways," Musk said in a statement. "We think they have a bright future, but they will not pollute the environment much."
By one estimate, Bitcoin uses as much electricity as the Netherlands every year, and all of these energy sources have a huge carbon footprint.
And there is no easy solution because the proof of work technology used to create cryptocurrencies is not intended to save energy.
This goes against Tesla's mission to accelerate the global transition to sustainable energy.
Musk also promoted another cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, in which Tesla had not invested. Musk called it the cryptocurrency and the popular currency. It appeared on "Saturday Night After" live, and its value has depreciated.
Musk is trying again to promote the token with a new tweet talking about promising improvements that Dogecoin has brought in.
His tweet fueled speculation that Dogecoin might be used in the future. Coinbase reported that its value rose by 18% before depreciating again.
Like Bitcoin, Dogecoin relies on less efficient proof of work technology and can use more efficient digital currencies, but that hasn't stopped speculators from pursuing Tesla and Dogecoin's dream of getting rich quick.