Today, the Bitcoin community was set abuzz with a tantalizing rumor suggesting that Tesla might be rekindling its love affair with BTC payments.The spark was ignited by a Twitter user who discovered that BTC can still be found in the source code of Tesla’s official website, alongside Apple Pay, Bancontact and other payment options.
The discovery that Bitcoin and Dogecoin payment options were still lingering in Tesla’s source code added fuel to the speculation that the electric vehicle giant might soon resume accepting BTC payments. Many enthusiasts were quick to interpret this as a possible signal of a Bitcoin comeback spearheaded by Elon Musk.
However, as the excitement escalated, the rumor was promptly debunked. Closer examination revealed that while the source code contained references to BTC and DOGE, they were relics from earlier configurations, and not an indication of recent or upcoming changes to Tesla’s payment options.
Chinese journalist Collin Wu, reported, “There were rumors in the community that Tesla added Bitcoin and Dogecoin to its payment page source code. However, upon verification, it was found that both cryptocurrencies were already present in the source code as early as January 2023. It appears that Tesla did not remove this code when they previously discontinued the option to pay with Bitcoin.”
Thus, the rumor that sent ripples through the community today turned out to be just that – a rumor. The purported comeback of BTC payments on Tesla’s website remains unsubstantiated, leaving enthusiasts waiting in anticipation for any official announcements from the electric vehicle company. However, it’s still noteworthy that BTC wasn’t removed by Tesla engineers.
Remarkably, Tesla released its second quarter 2023 earnings report just yesterday. This showed that Elon Musk’s company did not sell any of its remaining Bitcoin holdings.
Tesla’s History With Bitcoin
To understand the context behind this rumor, let’s briefly revisit Tesla’s history with BTC payments. In 2021, Tesla made headlines when it embraced BTC by announcing its mammoth investment of $1.5 billion. This move was seen as a significant milestone, propelling Bitcoin further into mainstream corporate finance.
However, the romance between Tesla and Bitcoin was short-lived. In the same year, Elon Musk and Tesla decided to suspend BTC payments for their electric vehicles, citing environmental concerns related to the high energy consumption of mining. Also, Muskoffloaded approximately 75% of Tesla’s BTC holdings between April 1 and the end of June 2022.
Musk emphasized that Tesla would reconsider buying Bitcoin at some point. He also claimed that Tesla would resume accepting BTC if the use of renewable energy by miners reached a threshold of 50% or more in the overall energy mix.
Since then, Tesla has not reverted to accepting Bitcoin as a payment method (although BTC passed this threshold), leading to speculation and occasional rumors, like the one we witnessed today. As of now, the electric vehicle giant’s stance on BTC payments seems to be unchanged.
At press time, the BTC price saw a slight uptrend today, rising to $30,291.
Featured image from Pymnts.com, chart from TradingView.com