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Tesla stops accepting Bitcoin as payment

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Bitcoin symbol.
Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment (Source: Getty)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the car company will no longer accept Bitcoin as a payment for car purchases.

Taking to Twitter the billionaire said Tesla was concerned about the use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions.

Despite this, Musk said he still backs the idea of cryptocurrency and Tesla would not be selling any of it’s holdings.

“Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment,” Musk said.

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“Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy.”

Musk confirmed that the car manufacturer is looking for alternative cryptocurrency options that use less energy per transaction.

  • Watch: Elon Musk calls cryptocurrency a "hustle" on Saturday Night Live

Tesla purchased around US$1.5 billion in Bitcoin in February, with the company telling the SEC the purchase was made for “more flexibility to further diversify and maximise returns on our cash.”

But recently Musk appeared to backflip on his bullishness after calling cryptocurrency a “hustle” in a skit during his appearance on Saturday Night Live.

That in turn sent the price of Dogecoin plummeting though Musk has been made the unofficial figurehead of the cryptocurrency, even calling himself the ‘Dogefather’.

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