Elon Musk Says Tesla will Suspend Vehicle Purchases Using Bitcoin, Citing Too Much Energy Consumption

Just weeks after Tesla started accepting Bitcoin as currency for cars, Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted on 13 May on Twitter that Tesla has “suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin,” citing“rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining.”

A study last year estimated bitcoin mining used 7.46 GW of electricity on average, and the same study puts the number right now at 16.71 GW. That would represent 147.79 TWh on an annual basis.

Tesla went on to say that it "will not be selling any Bitcoin" and said that it will use those holdings for transactions whenever mining "transitions to more sustainable energy." It's also unclear why Tesla hadn't taken these factors into account before announcing its use of Bitcoin, as they were already well-known.

The company has not specified a particular cryptocurrency, and it is looking at alternatives that it says use less than one percent of Bitcoin's energy per transaction, likely by using proof of stake blockchain technology instead of proof of work. 

The value of Bitcoin has dropped by $2,000 or so to $52,795.53, according to Coinbase.

On 11 May, 2021, Elon Musk posted a Twitter Poll about whether Tesla should accept Dogecoin, and approximated 80% voters chose "Yes".