Billionaire Elon Musk has said his multi-billion-dollar company, Tesla, will no longer be accepting payments in Bitcoin.
This amid growing concerns that mining of the popular cryptocurrency may have detrimental effects on the environment. Taking to his personal Twitter account, Musk expressed concerns over the increased use of fossil fuel to mine Bitcoin. The stock fell by thousands of dollars just minutes after Musk posted his tweet.
“We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.” Musk did however make it clear that he had no intention of selling off any Bitcoin already owned, instead saving the currency for a time when the coin might transition to a more environmentally-friendly form of mining.
“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. Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy.
” The vehicle and clean energy company is known for taking a strong stance on environmental issues, only manufacturing non-polluting battery cars. Users took to the comments section to share their thoughts on the billionaire’s sudden decision. Although some agreed with the company’s stance, most found the choice abrupt and unnecessary.
Jovaza