As Elon Musk Promised You Can Now Buy A Tesla Using Bitcoin

In an SEC filing last month, Tesla announced the company has bought 1.5 billion dollars worth of bitcoin. At the time the company also said it will start accepting the cryptocurrency for customers who chose to pay in bitcoin rather than fiat currency (such as US dollar, Euro, or any other currency issued by a government).

As to when Tesla will allow customers to pay for products and services using bitcoin the company said “we expect to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which we may or may not liquidate upon receipt.”

And now the time has finally come. In an update to the company’s online configurator, Tesla has enabled customers to use bitcoin to pay for Tesla vehicles. When customers go to place their order now in addition to the Apple Pay and Order With Card option there is now a third Bitcoin choice.

You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021

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Once you click the bitcoin option you’re then prompted with a page with a QR code you can scan. Or Tesla gives you an option to copy and paste a bitcoin address to your wallet. Once a customer initiates the ordering process Tesla gives him/her 30 minutes to conclude the transaction.

For the transaction, Tesla determines the equivalent value in bitcoin that they charge in dollars. However, due to the volatile nature of bitcoin, those prices can wildly vary, as a result Tesla determines bitcoin to dollar exchange rate every 30 minutes.

And since customers have to send the exact amount of bitcoin Tesla is due, their orders will fail if they aren’t able to finish the transaction within 30 minutes. Or in other words they have to finish their transaction before the bitcoin to dollar exchange rate Tesla uses changes.

After sending the payment Tesla redirects customers in approximately 1 minute. Tesla will then send the customer 2 emails one stating the bitcoin payment has been initiated and the second stating the bitcoin payment has settled.

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If a customer accidentally sends the wrong bitcoin amount when ordering a vehicle Tesla says it could result in the order being canceled. And if a customer sends the wrong bitcoin amount due for the final amount on his/her car it may cause a delay in the delivery of the vehicle.

For now, Tesla says it will only support bitcoin payment from customers in the continental US. However, the company is looking into expanding to new markets in the future. Also, Tesla says bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency the company supports and if anyone sends a different cryptocurrency to Tesla’s bitcoin address it will result in the loss of funds.

This is truly an exciting moment for the cryptocurrency world. With Tesla allowing the purchase of vehicles in bitcoin this further validates the cryptocurrency market as more than a passing fad and catapults it to “real currency”.

So what do you think? Are you excited to buy a Tesla in bitcoin? Will any of you be trying the option? Also, given the likelihood of multiple things going wrong in the process are any of afraid to try it? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

For more information check out: Here is How ARK Invest And Cathie Wood’s New Research Gives Tesla A $3T Market Cap Also, see Tesla Giga Berlin Investment Rises To $6.9B As Elon Downplays Water Impact

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.