Tesla cars can now be bought with Bitcoin, says Elon Musk

Electric car manufacturer Tesla is now accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet on Wednesday, "You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin." The car maker is the first auto manufacturer to start accepting Bitcoin as payment.

Musk said that Tesla is using only internal and open-source software and operates Bitcoin nodes directly. He added that Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin and not converted to currency.

"Pay by Bitcoin capability available outside US later this year," he added.

In February, Tesla disclosed its $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin. In a filing with the United States' Securities and Exchange Commission the company said that it bought Bitcoin for "more flexibility to further diversify and maximise returns on our cash." It had also hinted that it would begin accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment.

"We invested an aggregate $1.50 billion in bitcoin under this policy and may acquire and hold digital assets from time to time or long-term. Moreover, we expect to begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which we may or may not liquidate upon receipt," the company had stated.

This shot up prices to a record. Tesla betted on Bitcoin after it updated its investment policy in January to allow it to buy digital assets, as mentioned in a report in Bloomberg.

Musk has often tweeted on cryptocurrency-related topics. He had recently called Bitcoin 'a good thing' in an interview.

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