Consumers can no longer buy Tesla vehicles with bitcoin, CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter Wednesday.
What he's saying: Musk cited the environmental concerns associated with bitcoin — the cryptocurrency has a massive carbon footprint — as his reasoning behind Wednesday's decision.
"Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin," Musk said.
- "We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil; fuels for bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel."
- "Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future."
- "[W]e intend to use it as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy," he said, adding that Tesla is considering other cryptocurrencies that consume less energy.
Flashback: Musk in March approved the use of the cryptocurrency for Tesla purchases in the U.S. Some critics at the time said the move could tarnish the company's environmentally friendly image.
Our thought bubble, from Axios' Ina Fried: The energy issues related to Bitcoin have been long known and less energy consuming options have been available for some time.