Elon Musk is right. Bitcoin could erase Tesla’s strides toward a carbon-free future

Elon Musk is right. Bitcoin could erase Tesla’s strides toward a carbon-free future

Tesla this week, just three months after announcing plans to accept the cryptocurrency as payment. That might be for the best. CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday cited the environmental impact of bitcoin transactions for the electric automaker's decision to suspend the purchasing option. "We are concerned about the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel," Musk said in a tweet. Musk's decision sparked outrage on social media as #dontbuytesla trended on Twitter and users accused the CEO of market manipulation. "All of a sudden, he's not so keen due to environmental concerns. But why now?" Nigel Green, CEO of the financial advisor deVere Group and a crypto supporter, . "Those issues surrounding the environmental impact have not come up in the last few months." But Musk's decision may have some weight behind it, especially considering the rise in bitcoin's energy consumption in recent years. Tesla's February , further hiking up its value. Environmentalists have long criticized bitcoin's environmental footprint, and Wall Street analysts seem to agree: Bitcoin mining could erase any gains made by electric vehicles to eliminate carbon emissions. The cryptocurrency's energy consumption is linked