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Elon Musk in Los Angeles on June 13, 2019.Mike Blake / Reuters file Share [Add NBC News to Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=nbcnews.com) Savewith a NBCUniversal Profile May 12, 2021, 10:47 PM UTC / Updated May 13, 2021, 12:09 PM UTC By [Jason Abbruzzese](https://www.nbcnews.com/author/jason-abbruzzese-ncpn843466) Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that the car company would no longer accept bitcoin to purchase its vehicles, citing concerns about the environmental impact of the cryptocurrency.  Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.  "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," Musk said in a statement [posted to his Twitter account](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1392602041025843203). Musk later added a chart based on data from the University of Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance showing what he called the cryptocurrnecy's "insane" energy usage trend. The announcement comes a little more than three months after [Tesla first announced](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html) it would begin accepting bitcoin as payment. The company also said at the time that it had purchased \$1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. The value of bitcoin declined sharply after Musk's tweet, dropping from about \$54,700 per coin to as low as \$46,000 before rebounding slightly. Musk, [one of the world's richest people](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/elon-musk-now-richest-man-planet-overtaking-jeff-bezos-n1253280), said in the statement Wednesday that the company would not be selling any of its bitcoin and intends "to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy." He added that the company is also looking at cryptocurrencies that use less energy. 0 seconds of 1 minute, 30 secondsVolume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard Shortcuts EnabledDisabled Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size\- Increase Caption Size\+ or = Seek %0-9 Settings Off CC English Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan 100% 75% 50% 25% 200% 175% 150% 125% 100% 75% 50% Arial Courier Georgia Impact Lucida Console Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop Shadow White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% Auto270p (273 kbps) 1080p (4565 kbps) 720p (3245 kbps) 540p (1679 kbps) 360p (903 kbps) 270p (486 kbps) 270p (273 kbps) Live 00:00 01:30 01:30  - [Add NBC News to Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=nbcnews.com) [On ‘SNL,’ Elon Musk says he has Asperger’s syndrome, talks cryptocurrency](https://www.today.com/video/on-snl-elon-musk-says-he-has-asperger-s-syndrome-talks-cryptocurrency-111589445920) 01:31 Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies [rely on computing power for their distributed networks](https://www.nbcnews.com/video/what-is-bitcoin-and-why-does-it-have-value-1140727363849), creating a decentralized system to create and track digital assets. But as cryptocurrencies have continued to gain attention, use and popularity, that computing power has become the subject of scrutiny from critics who say they are now [significant contributors of carbon emissions](https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/21/the-debate-about-cryptocurrency-and-energy-consumption/). Musk has pitched Tesla's electric vehicles and energy infrastructure as a major step forward for reducing carbon emissions. As [host of the most recent "Saturday Night Live" episode](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/elon-musk-delivers-laughs-tips-hat-cryptocurrency-snl-n1266763), he plugged the company's efforts to reinvent electric cars. But he has also been a [strong proponent of cryptocurrencies](https://www.coindesk.com/elon-musk-calls-bitcoin-brilliant-better-than-paper-money-for-value-transfer), particularly bitcoin and dogecoin, both of which have shot up in value in recent years. The announcement was a rare reversal from Musk, who has fashioned himself in recent years as a person who courts controversy and rarely gives in to public pressure. Share [Add NBC News to Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=nbcnews.com) Savewith a NBCUniversal Profile [](https://www.nbcnews.com/author/jason-abbruzzese-ncpn843466) [Jason Abbruzzese](https://www.nbcnews.com/author/jason-abbruzzese-ncpn843466) Jason Abbruzzese is the assistant managing editor of tech and science for NBC News Digital. - [About](https://www.nbcnews.com/information/nbc-news-info/about-nbc-news-digital-n1232178) - [Contact](https://www.nbcnews.com/information/nbc-news-info/contact-us-n1232521) - [Help](https://nbcnews.zendesk.com/hc/en-us) - [Careers](https://www.nbcunicareers.com/) - [Ad Choices](https://www.nbcuniversalprivacy.com/privacy/cookies#accordionheader2) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.nbcuniversalprivacy.com/privacy?intake=NBC_News) - [Your Privacy Choices](https://www.nbcuniversal.com/privacy/notrtoo/?intake=NBC_News) - [CA Notice](https://www.nbcuniversalprivacy.com/privacy/california-consumer-privacy-act?intake=NBC_News) - [Terms of Service](https://www.nbcuniversal.com/terms) - [NBC News Subscription Terms of Service](https://www.nbcnews.com/subscribe/supplemental-terms) - [NBC News Sitemap](https://www.nbcnews.com/archive) - [Closed Captioning](https://www.nbcnews.com/information/nbc-news-info/closed-captioning-n1307063) - [Subscribe](https://www.nbcnews.com/subscribe) - [Advertise](https://together.nbcuni.com/advertise/?utm_source=nbc_news&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=property_ad_pages) - [NBC Select](https://www.nbcnews.com/select) © 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that the car company would no longer accept bitcoin to purchase its vehicles, citing concerns about the environmental impact of the cryptocurrency. "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," Musk said in a statement [posted to his Twitter account](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1392602041025843203). Musk later added a chart based on data from the University of Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance showing what he called the cryptocurrnecy's "insane" energy usage trend. The announcement comes a little more than three months after [Tesla first announced](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html) it would begin accepting bitcoin as payment. The company also said at the time that it had purchased \$1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. The value of bitcoin declined sharply after Musk's tweet, dropping from about \$54,700 per coin to as low as \$46,000 before rebounding slightly. Musk, [one of the world's richest people](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/elon-musk-now-richest-man-planet-overtaking-jeff-bezos-n1253280), said in the statement Wednesday that the company would not be selling any of its bitcoin and intends "to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy." He added that the company is also looking at cryptocurrencies that use less energy.  01:31 Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies [rely on computing power for their distributed networks](https://www.nbcnews.com/video/what-is-bitcoin-and-why-does-it-have-value-1140727363849), creating a decentralized system to create and track digital assets. But as cryptocurrencies have continued to gain attention, use and popularity, that computing power has become the subject of scrutiny from critics who say they are now [significant contributors of carbon emissions](https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/21/the-debate-about-cryptocurrency-and-energy-consumption/). Musk has pitched Tesla's electric vehicles and energy infrastructure as a major step forward for reducing carbon emissions. As [host of the most recent "Saturday Night Live" episode](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/elon-musk-delivers-laughs-tips-hat-cryptocurrency-snl-n1266763), he plugged the company's efforts to reinvent electric cars. But he has also been a [strong proponent of cryptocurrencies](https://www.coindesk.com/elon-musk-calls-bitcoin-brilliant-better-than-paper-money-for-value-transfer), particularly bitcoin and dogecoin, both of which have shot up in value in recent years. The announcement was a rare reversal from Musk, who has fashioned himself in recent years as a person who courts controversy and rarely gives in to public pressure.