Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk said on Wednesday that a Tesla vehicle can now be bought using bitcoin and the option will be available outside the United States later this year.
“You can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin,” he tweeted on Wednesday. “Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency.”
Last month, Tesla revealed it had purchased $1.5 billion of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for cars, sending the price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency soaring.
The world’s leading EV maker made the Bitcoin bet after updating its investment policy in January to allow it to buy digital assets.
In addition to lending increased legitimacy to electronic currencies, Musk’s embrace of Bitcoin fits his maverick image. The billionaire has often tweeted about cryptocurrency-related topics and recently called Bitcoin “a good thing” in an interview. Dogecoin, the once tongue-in-cheek digital currency, also soared to records in February after Musk, rapper Snoop Dogg and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons tweeted about it.