Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk says the electric vehicle maker will no longer accept Bitcoin as a source of payment.
In a Tweet, Musk said that Tesla is suspending vehicle purchases using Bitcoin over concerns about "rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions."
Tesla, known for its high-performance electric cars, is one of the leading brand names in the clean energy sector.
The company disclosed in February that it purchased $1.5 billion U.S. worth of Bitcoin and planned to accept it as a payment for its electric vehicles.
Bitcoin mining consumes 66 times more electricity than it did back in 2015, and the carbon emissions associated with it are likely to face increased scrutiny.
The price of Bitcoin fell about 10% on the news that Tesla is no longer accepting the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin’s price now sits at $49,500.00 per coin.
