MUSK DECRIES BITCOIN’S ‘INSANE’ ENERGY USE AFTER TESLA PAYMENT U-TURN
Tesla boss Elon Musk today denounced the “insane” amount of energy used to produce bitcoin, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns.
Musk, one of bitcoin’s most ardent backers, tweeted a graph of bitcoin’s power consumption and said: “Energy usage trend over past few months is insane.”
That followed his tweet from Wednesday saying Tesla would no longer accept the cryptocurrency as payment for its electric cars because it came at a great cost to the environment, an about-face from his stance in March.
Bitcoin, which sank 17% to its lowest since March 1 on Wednesday after Musk’s comments, climbed back to $50,360 on Thursday.
Other cryptocurrencies including ether also fell before regaining some ground. Coinbase, the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, was down 2%.
