Elon Musk Says He, SpaceX and Tesla Hold Bitcoin
Key Takeaways:
- Elon Musk says he does not intend to sell any of his Bitcoin holdings
- At “The B Word” online conference, Mr. Musk revealed SpaceX owns Bitcoin
“SpaceX, Tesla, and I own Bitcoin,” Elon Musk Says
The Chief Executive of Tesla and SpaceX said Wednesday that he and both of his companies hold bitcoin. At an online conference titled “The B Word” hosted by Crypto Council for Innovation, Mr. Musk joined Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey and Ark CEO and CIO Cathie Wood to discuss the economic value of Bitcoin and its path toward broader mainstream adoption.
Mr. Musk, whose Twitter posts this year have caused a number of sharp swings in the price of bitcoin, said that he believes in the digital currency and would like to see it develop and succeed. “We’re not selling any Bitcoin, nor am I selling anything personally or nor is SpaceX selling any Bitcoin,” he said. “I would like to see bitcoin succeed.”
“I might pump, but I don’t dump”
In response to criticism that Tesla sold 10% of its $1.5bn bitcoin stack, Elon Musk said “if the price of Bitcoin goes down, I lose money. I might pump, but I don’t dump,”. He continued by adding, “I definitely do not believe in getting the price high and selling or anything like that.”
The eccentric billionaire expressed his concerns over the carbon footprint Bitcoin mining leaves on the environment. “I would want to do a little bit more diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy usage is most likely at or above 50% and that there is a trend towards increasing that number,” he said.
Tesla’s decision to stop accepting bitcoin as payment for its electric vehicles, according to Mr. Musk, could be reversed if at least 50% of bitcoin’s mining energy was coming from renewable sources. “There is a trend towards increasing that number. If so, Tesla would resume accepting bitcoin,” he said.
Elon Musk’s comments, along with those of Mr. Dorsey and Ms. Wood, delivered a slight push to Bitcoin’s price. The crypto asset climbed about 8% on the day to end trading at $31,800.
The entire discussion between the three Bitcoin supporters could be found on Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest YouTube channel here.