Musk: To Bitcoin or not to Bitcoin

Elon Musk caused a stir this week with the announcement that his electric vehicle company, Tesla, will no longer accept payments made with bitcoin, citing concerns about Bitcoin’s energy consumption. He did note that they will continue to hold $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency on their books, leading some to suspect his motives. Naturally, the crypto community had their say.

Elon … you realize that 75% of miners use renewable energy, right?

This energy story has been debunked over and over again.

— Pomp ? (@APompliano) May 12, 2021

Ironic because no incremental energy is used in a #bitcoin transaction. The energy is used to secure the crypto-asset network, and the net impact on fossil fuel consumption over time will be negative, all things considered.

— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) May 12, 2021

Bet.

I wouldn’t buy a Tesla with Bitcoin anyway.

— Okung ? (@RussellOkung) May 12, 2021

Anyone who knows a little about electricity networks knows that the amount of energy used by #Bitcoin mining is miniscule vs the amount of energy wasted due to inefficiency and over production. #Bitcoin helps with the latter

Am sure @elonmusk knows this and has other motives https://t.co/yEg2Ep2bB9

— Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) May 14, 2021

@elonmusk Bitcoin is not the problem. It’s the solution. pic.twitter.com/3gEeynvwwO

— Vanessa (@vanessaindovino) May 14, 2021

So what do you think? Is Musk a villain or a hero? Let us know on Twitter.