In 2021, Elon Musk stated that Tesla would resume accepting Bitcoin payments once approximately 50% of the energy used by miners came from clean sources, along with a “positive future trend” — a criterion that may have been recently satisfied.
On September 14, in a thread on X (previously Twitter), Bloomberg analyst Jamie Coutts reported that the energy used for Bitcoin mining from renewable sources had surpassed 50%, accompanied by “declining emissions and a significantly increasing hash rate.” Coutts attributed this shift towards renewable energy to the dispersion of miners following China’s mining ban initiated in 2021, as well as certain countries’ efforts to “monetize stranded and excess energy.” Countries investing in BTC mining include El Salvador — which also accepted the cryptocurrency as legal tender since 2021 — Bhutan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Achieving the 50% energy benchmark could facilitate broader adoption by one of the world’s largest companies.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla, owner of X, and founder of SpaceX, announced in May 2021 that Tesla would cease accepting BTC payments due to the “growing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions.” Although he recognized a positive trend towards renewable energy sources after setting a 50% sustainable energy threshold for resuming payments, Musk has not altered Tesla’s stance.
The Tesla CEO has not publicly declared any intention to reinstate BTC payments. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price was $26,572, having increased by over 2% in the past week.
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