Tilman Fertitta says his luxury dealership has sold 17 cars for bitcoin

Tilman Fertitta says his luxury dealership has sold 17 cars for bitcoin

Billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta told CNBC on Tuesday his luxury car dealership has sold more than a dozen vehicles for bitcoin since it began transactions using the digital currency nearly three years ago.

Fertitta's comments on "Power Lunch" came one day after Tesla announced plans to begin accepting bitcoin as payment for its products. The electric-vehicle maker also said it purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin using cash on its balance sheet.

"Tesla taking it is much more important than me taking it, but believe it or not, we've sold 17 cars “” Bentleys and [Rolls-Royces] “” with bitcoin," said Fertitta, who also runs a vast hospitality empire as chairman and CEO of Houston-based Landry's Inc.

Fertitta's Post Oak Motor Cars first began to accept bitcoin in 2018, according to The Houston Chronicle. He told CNBC the idea of accepting bitcoin transactions came from his team of employees. "We've always talked about being innovative and ahead of everybody else and don't be a dinosaur around here or you won't last," he said.

In its filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla said it will start accepting bitcoin as a payment in the near future, "subject to applicable laws and initially on a