It is now official and effective. From today, Wednesday 24 March 2021, it is concretely possible buy a Tesla car by paying for it in Bitcoin. This was announced on Twitter, at 8 in the morning in Italy (therefore in the middle of the night in the USA), by the founder of the electric car brand (and of many other things…) Elon Musk, with a dry tweet: “You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin”. Musk then specified, in another tweet, that for now the purchase with the virtual currency is only possible within the United States, but that by the end of the year it will also be possible outside: "Pay by Bitcoin capability available outside US later this year”. The Bitcoins used to buy a Tesla car, added the South African guru, "will be kept as Bitcoins, it will not be converted into current currency".
The revolutionary novelty had already been announced last February 8th, when Musk had decided to invest 1,5 billion in Bitcoin, simultaneously communicating to the SEC, the American Consob, that he intended to allow payment in cryptocurrency: "Investing in Bitcoin allows us more flexibility to diversify and to further maximize profits" . The move had caused a sensation: the Tesla stock rose to 863 dollars per share, one of the highest values touched in the last 6 months (after the incredible rally of 2020, around +700%), but above all the valuation of Bitcoin skyrocketed, which earned 12% in one fell swoop, setting a new record of 44.000 dollars (later extensively revised: it exceeded 50.000, today it is worth almost 48.000).
This time Elon Musk gave the announcement after closed markets: in yesterday's session Tesla closed negatively at 662 dollars per share, but today's premarket has expectations that are necessarily upwards, given the scenarios that are opening up. But how do you actually buy a Tesla car in Bitcoin? Simple, on the official Tesla website. Even before Covid, the Californian company had bet almost entirely on e-commerce, giving up the opening of physical stores (at most preferring temporary stores to promote cars) and in some cases also offering home delivery. Cars can therefore be bought directly online, choosing features, accessories and optionals: the result is a final price that can be paid in cash, or in installments with a leasing or financing formula. And then among the payment instruments, in addition to the credit card and Apple Pay, from today (for those who open the site within the US) the Bitcoin button also appears.
