Tesla's Musk Reverses Course On Taking Bitcoin, Citing Climate Concerns

Bitcoin, the world's biggest digital currency, fell more than 7% after the tweet and was trading at $52,669.

Tesla Inc has suspended the use of bitcoin to purchase its vehicles because of climate concerns, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said in a tweet on Wednesday, reversing the company's stance in the face of an outcry from some environmentalists and investors. Bitcoin, the world's biggest digital currency, fell more than 7% after the tweet and was trading at $52,669. Tesla Inc revealed in February it had bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin, before it began accepting it as payment for cars in March, driving a roughly 20% surge in the world's most widely held cryptocurrency. Musk on Wednesday said Tesla would not sell any bitcoin, and intends to use bitcoin for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. "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 wrote.