Elon Musk declares you can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin in the United States of America (USA).
There's a new way to buy a Tesla, according to CEO Elon Musk: Bitcoin.
Musk revealed early Wednesday his electric auto company will accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment from customers.
In a series of tweets now pinned at the top of his feed, Musk said Bitcoin used by customers to purchase a Tesla "will be retained as Bitcoin." When used, the Bitcoin won't be converted by Musk's company to fiat currency, or money that is government-issued.
Musk also said the option to pay by Bitcoin will be available later this year forconsumersoutside of the U.S.
The company had already confirmed plans to accept Bitcoin in a filing February with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The price of Bitcoin as of Wednesday morning is up more than 3.7% to $56,991.81. One year ago, the price of Bitcoin topped $5,800.
Earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned the U.S. public needs to understand the risks behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The agency, he said, prefers to call cryptocurrencies "crypto assets."
"They’re highly volatile, see Bitcoin, and therefore not really useful as a store of value," Powell said during a virtual summit hosted by the Bank for International Settlements. "They’re more of an asset for speculation. So they’re also not particularly in use as a means of payment. It’s essentially a substitute for gold rather than for the dollar."
