Bitcoin Magazine says "it's a bit ironic" that Tesla is concerned about BTC's energy sources.
Elon Musk and Tesla are being urged to reconsider their stance towards Bitcoin.
The electric vehicle company invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency last year, and started to accept it as a payment method.
Although Tesla has continued holding on to its BTC, Musk suspended the ability to accept crypto payments amid concerns about Bitcoin's impact on the environment.
In an open letter, the policy team of Bitcoin Magazine pointed to evidence that Bitcoin "accelerates sustainable energy adoption" — and helps renewable projects improve their profitability because of how they can get involved with mining during periods of low demand.
When this new policy was announced in May 2021, Musk said that Tesla would revisit accepting BTC once it could be proven that more than 50% of its energy usage came from renewable sources. 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."
The letter goes on to call for experts with strong credentials to examine the overall impact of BTC on the environment — and how this compares with fiat currencies and precious metals.
Signing off, Derek Khanna, Grant McCarty and David Zell add:
"All Bitcoin users should know the carbon dioxide impact of their use and be able to transact with vendors such as Tesla. They should know the carbon dioxide impact of using dollars, too."
It remains to be seen whether the letter will warrant a response from Musk. The billionaire's tweets about crypto have waned in recent months.