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Dogecoin coin (symbolic image): fun currency with a life of its own
Photo: DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
Tesla boss Elon Musk is once again making headlines not with cars, but with crypto currencies: Musk announced via Twitter that Tesla customers will in future be able to pay for some of the carmaker's products with Dogecoin - a crypto currency that was actually launched as a fun product.
"Tesla will make it possible to buy some merchandise with Doge and see how it goes," Musk tweeted.
The announcement caused a run on the currency, the rate of which climbed by almost a quarter to $ 0.195.
Tesla sells merchandising products such as clothing, belt buckles and miniature models of its vehicles.
Also in the range: a »Cyberquad« for children and a pipe called »Cyberwhistle«, which looks like the company's angular »Cybertruck«.
This is not the only reason why the announcement should serve marketing: Elon Musk used the hype about crypto currencies earlier as a marketing tool to attract the attention of his tech-savvy customers. Tesla initially announced that it would accept Bitcoin - the best-known and largest crypto currency - for car purchases, but made a U-turn after two months.
Back in May, Musk asked in a Twitter poll whether his followers want Tesla to accept Dogecoin.
In the spring he caused sharp price fluctuations with tweets full of allusions to the Dogecoin ("To the moon!").
During a guest appearance on the comedy show "Saturday Night Live" he called the fun currency a "trickery", which caused the rate to crash.
Most recently, he involved the head of the Bitcoin exchange Binance in a battle of words over Dogecoin because there were delays in withdrawals to Binance customers.
mic / Reuters
