In an SEC filing that emerged in late October 2021, Tesla said it may restart accepting cryptocurrencies for its products in the future.
Dogecoin surged by 12% on Friday after Elon Musk confirmed that the memecoin can now be used to buy merchandise.
Speculation had been growing for some time. Tree of Alpha, a software engineer, had delved into the source code of the company's website — and discovered a button that would allow DOGE to be used for transactions alongside credit cards.
— Tree of Alpha (@Tree_of_Alpha)Tesla now added a custom SVG icon for the Dogecoin payment option as well as a golden doge-like background color.
Before/After.
Backend for payments still won't let me buy, though.$DOGE pic.twitter.com/rGxl1uYIgS
Screenshots suggest that pressing this button converts the dollar amount of a purchase into DOGE — and shoppers then have 30 minutes to complete the transaction before the exchange rate expires.
A QR code is also provided to ensure that the Dogecoin transaction ends up in the right place. The user would then receive two confirmations — one when the payment is initiated and one when it's settled — with consumers warned their order may be canceled if the incorrect amount of DOGE is sent, and funds could be lost if they're sent to the wrong address.
Of course, even freezing the DOGE exchange rate for 30 minutes is a bit of a risk on Tesla's part, not least because of how the memecoin's value has been known to chop and change dramatically. An FAQ screenshot tweeted by Tree of Alpha adds:
"We currently do not accept payment in digital assets other than Dogecoin. Under no circumstances should you send digital assets other than Dogecoin to us."
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DOGE First, BTC Next?
In an SEC filing that emerged in late October 2021, Tesla said it may restart accepting cryptocurrencies for its products in the future. By the middle of December, the company said DOGE would be accepted for a range of Tesla merchandise — including a quad bike modeled after the Cybertruck that costs a cool $1,900.
Earlier this week, an open letter from Bitcoin Magazine urged Elon Musk and Tesla to reconsider their stance toward BTC — arguing that the cryptocurrency "accelerates sustainable energy adoption."
Musk had previously said that the company would only open the door to Bitcoin transactions once it could be proven that at least 50% of the energy used by miners comes from renewable sources — and the magazine's policy team claims this threshold has now been met. The letter adds:
"It's a bit ironic that Tesla is so concerned about Bitcoin's energy sources. According to the best available research, Bitcoin's energy mix is already around 56% renewable, compared to around 20% for the average American’s power consumption. Since over 80% of Tesla charging is done at home, does that mean Teslas should be put on hold until the energy people use to charge them is more than 50% renewable? We hope not."
At the time of writing, DOGE is trading at $0.1965 — up 12.86% over the past 24 hours, and 25.66% over the past week.
