Two weeks on from Tesla’s U-turn on accepting Bitcoin for payments, and markets have so far failed to recapture their previous sparkle.
The event has become the subject of much hearsay and conjecture. In trying to explain the action, @CroissantEth lays out his theory regarding Musk’s Bitcoin “end game.” Which, if true, could be the start of a new narrative surrounding the leading cryptocurrency.
Was This A Tesla Marketing Ploy All Along?
Throughout this period, the actions of Elon Musk have come under increasing scrutiny, as many try to understand what happened.
Why backtrack on Bitcoin based on information he had foreknowledge of? Add to that his disregard of claims that Bitcoin runs primarily on renewable energy, and many believe there is more going on than publically disclosed.
Having considered the issues at play, @CroissantEth said the whole thing is an elaborate ruse to further integrate Bitcoin into his companies.
A similar message was put out by Bitcoin-bull Anthony Pompliano, who described the incident as a marketing ploy. Pompliano said the U-turn is a launching pad for Tesla to release a renewable power mining rig eventually.
“So I think this is some sort of a market ploy by Tesla, draw attention to the issue and come up with a solution and kind of save the day.”
Is Tesla Looking To Monetize Bitcoin?
@CroissantEth paints a more detailed picture than Pompliano by elaborating on the steps that brought him to this conclusion.
It begins by mentioning Tesla shareholder Ark Invest, who published research on solar battery Bitcoin mining. The paper also seems to imply Tesla’s involvement with this venture.
@CroissantETH then mentions carbon credits, which are a significant slice of Tesla’s income. But profitability on this is expected to decline in the future as rival car manufacturers step up their emissions game.
Carbon credits refer to a market mechanism that aims to lower emissions. “Negative” companies sell their carbon credits to customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint.
With this in mind, @CroissantETH infers an added motivation to seek out new revenue streams, possibly involving the monetization of Bitcoin.
“Tesla’s main business is in producing solar panels, solar roofs, and batteries. Often times Tesla powerwalls run into excess energy, which could hypothetically be re-routed to $BTC mining with a GPU This way, Tesla could turn excess power into a digital asset instantly bankable“
The above makes for some interesting sleuthing and goes some way in accounting for Musk’s bizarre Bitcoin U-turn. However, for now, it remains a theory.