It took Elon Musk less than three months to return his jacket.
The iconic Tesla boss, who announced in February the possibility of buying his electric cars in bitcoins, reversed his decision on May 13.
The reason given: the best-known cryptocurrency is not ecological enough.
“
Tesla has suspended car purchases with bitcoins.
We are concerned about the increasing use of carbon-rich fuels to mine bitcoin, especially coal, which has the worst (greenhouse gas) emissions of all fuels,
”Elon Musk said in a report. simple tweet.
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In search of a cleaner cryptocurrency
"
Cryptocurrency is a good idea on a lot of levels and we think it has a bright future, but that should not compromise the environment,
" he added, explaining that he is looking for less cryptocurrency. polluting.
Read also: Elon Musk's brake on bitcoin is screwing up prices
The accusations made against bitcoin are nothing new. A recent study by the scientific journal Nature will have again underlined that “mining”, that is to say the production of bitcoins, in China risked compromising the country's climate objectives. Also according to this study, and if nothing is done, Chinese computer mines could produce 130.50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2024. This represents almost all of the emissions greenhouse gas emissions from Italy or Saudi Arabia.
Elon Musk was well aware of these subtleties at the start of the year.
This did not prevent him from acquiring nearly $ 1.5 billion worth of bitcoins in January and making a significant gain, the rise in the price of bitcoin helping.
At the end of the first quarter, the company's bitcoin portfolio was around $ 2.48 billion, according to a stock paper released in late April.
That is almost a billion in profits made without any effort.
Bitcoin's price at half mast
In the meantime, the nature of bitcoin mining, and the resulting carbon dioxide emissions, have not changed.
But Tesla now has another goal to achieve.
According to Reuters, the company is seeking to enter the US multi-billion dollar revolving credit market, thereby securing hefty subsidies.
The manufacturer would have filed a request to this effect with the Agency for the protection of the environment on the production of electricity and renewable credits.
As a reminder, the Biden administration has set a course of "
achieving zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest
."
Read also: Bitcoin falls below $ 50,000, the market fears an American tax plan
This turnaround at Tesla has not been without consequences on the price of cryptocurrency, Elon Musk having so far made a habit of being particularly laudatory towards bitcoin. Its price fell by nearly 12% in the hours following the announcement, to fall below $ 50,000, against 57,000 previously. It has since recovered slightly and is around $ 51,000.
