Billionaire investor Ron Baron calls Tesla’s $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase ‘not surprising’

Billionaire investor Ron Baron calls Tesla’s $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase ‘not surprising’

Tesla shareholder Ron Baron says he is not surprised by the company's decision to purchase $1.5 billion in Bitcoin.

"I'm sure a lot of thought went into the bitcoin purchase by Tesla, and I look forward to learning the rationale," Baron told CNBC on Monday.

The billionaire investor pointed out that Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, has long been promoting the cryptocurrency on Twitter. Musk's tweets about Bitcoin have often been linked to surges in the value of the digital currency. In January, the currency surged 15% after Musk put #bitcoin in his Twitter bio.

Bitcoin rose 16% to a record high Monday morning after Tesla revealed in its annual 10-k filing the same morning that the company had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin.

The electric car maker also plans to allow customers to use Bitcoin as a payment option.

Tesla investors like Baron could benefit from the decision to invest in Bitcoin

The announcement caused Tesla shares to jump 2%. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note the decision could cause the company's shares to continue to rise with the cryptocurrency.

The investment also has several risks, including Bitcoin's volatility as the currency has risen over 400% in the past year.

Tesla wrote in a filing with