Musk says Tesla no longer plans to accept payment in bitcoin

Musk says Tesla no longer plans to accept payment in bitcoin

Elon Musk reversed his backing of bitcoin on Wednesday as he said that Tesla was suspending plans to accept payment for its cars using the cryptocurrency.

He put the change of heart down to environmental worries about the mechanism used to validate bitcoin transactions, pointing to a wider rethink of the digital currency that could throw into question its growing appeal among other companies as well.

Musk has faced sharp rebukes over Tesla’s recent support for the cryptocurrency, including from ESG investors who consider environmental, social and governance issues. His enthusiasm for the energy-hungry currency runs counter to the climate change worries that the Tesla chief executive has always said led to his involvement in electric cars. 

The bitcoin price jumped 15 per cent in a single day in February after Tesla revealed it had put $1.5bn of its corporate cash into the digital currency and planned one day to accept it in payment for its cars. The news was widely seen as an important validation for bitcoin in the corporate world and sparked a wider debate among corporate treasurers about using the currency.

In a brief statement released on Twitter on Wednesday, Musk said: “We are concerned about [the] rapidly increasing use of