The rise of the electric car industry has led to its global abundance and availability. Nearly all big developed countries make millions of dollars annually from selling electric cars.
Market insights expect that this industry will grow further by many folds in the coming decades.
The modern design, unparalleled performance, and futuristic technology are why these cars are globally trending. Their increased ranges and abilities have made these electric cars a consumer favorite.
It is because of these reasons that electric cars are very expensive. It does not matter how much you appreciate electric cars, the question is, how can you buy one?
Can You Use Bitcoin to Buy an Electric Car?
The answer to this question is yes.
Bitcoins and other forms of legit cryptocurrencies have become legal and acceptable forms of online money. It is legal in many major countries like America, Russia, Japan, and other European states.
Other countries like China, Egypt, Iraq, Bangladesh, and Alegria have banned cryptocurrency usage.
In some smaller developing countries, the legality of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies is still under debate.
Hence, the use of Bitcoins is not an issue in countries like the US, where cryptocurrency is legal. One could purchase more electric cars and other luxury goods easily with Bitcoin.
Let us look at Tesla’s example to understand how far the cryptocurrency world has come.
Buying a Tesla with Bitcoins
Tesla is an expensive electric vehicle brand. It has vehicles ranging between $40,000 to $124,000. This price range makes a tesla not accessible for everyone.
The company was initially against the use of cryptocurrency in regard to its legality. However, recently Tesla invested almost $1.5billionin Bitcoin since.
This showed Tesla’s changed perspective and open acceptance of bitcoins and cryptocurrency.
In March 2021, the CEO of Tesla allowed people to use Bitcoin to make a purchase. “You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin” was Elon Musk’s official tweet. He promised to later allow this in other countries.
As a result of the game-changing tweet, the price of Bitcoin immediately changed. It rose almost 3% and went to a $56,242 amount. This meant that one bitcoin could be enough to purchase a standard Tesla car.
Another great part of this news is that the company kept its exchange policy open. Hence, a customer buying a Tesla with Bitcoin could return it for a refund in bitcoins as well.
The massive announcement led to a major increase in Bitcoin and Tesla’s value. As a result, many bitcoin owners got interested in purchasing a Tesla.
However, in May of 2021, Tesla went back on its promise and offer. According to Elon Musk’s official tweet, this change was necessary.
The suspension of the bitcoin payment option was due to the “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining.”
Musk’s tweet stated that since coal mining is leading to harmful emissions. Moreover, he was clear that Tesla would not support environmental damage. As a result, the value of Bitcoin dropped immediately by 5%.
Later in July of 2021, Elon again posted an updating tweet. He said that Tesla might reallow bitcoin payments in the future.
The tweet further stated that would happen after he finds renewable ways of bitcoin mining. It is expected that bitcoin usage for buying a Tesla will resume in the coming years.
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How Could You Buy a Tesla with Bitcoins?
According to experts, Tesla would have a super user-friendly bitcoin payment system. Tesla plans to develop a processing system that would easily allow the acceptance and liquidation of Bitcoin.
This system would help eliminate and middle man or middle trading party, making the transaction direct.
This would be the first time some big company does that. Other companies avoid this processing system due to the volatility of bitcoins.
The customers would be able to transfer bitcoins into the automaker’s personal system. Then customers would wire the money directly from their bitcoin wallet.
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How Can You Buy an Electric Car with Bitcoins?
Bitcoins are virtual online money that can be used to create profits from trade or make purchases.
You can buy an electric car with a bitcoin, just as you buy any other product. The bitcoins in your digital wallet will allow you to wire the money to an electric car company.
Continue ready below to better understand how bitcoins work and their various components.
How Do Bitcoins Work?
Bitcoins are the most popular form of global virtual currency. Many countries see it as a safe and legal form of trade and payment. While many others still do not understand or trust its process.
Bitcoins are the largest form of cryptocurrency and have the highest number of owners and monetary value.
Like any other form of currency, bitcoin is created and has a process to protect it from fraud. Bitcoins are made of several different building blocks. These are:
- Blockchain;
- Mining;
- Hashes;
- Halving
- Keys;
- Wallets.
Blockchain
Blockchain is the protocol that bitcoins run on. The blockchains store all the information regarding bitcoin transactions.
It helps keep track of how many bitcoins are sent and how many are received. These transactions could be between people or companies.
Mining
The mining process maintains the trustless public ledger. The Bitcoin software is specially designed to keep mining a time-consuming and challenging process.
If this was not the case, bitcoin money would not be as safe. Any person could be able to access another’s blockchain, steal bitcoin money, and make fake transactions.
For this, the mining process is able to limit a one-megabyte block transaction per ten minutes.
Halving
The mining process rewards miners with bitcoins. After every four years, this reward is cut in half by the halving system.
The purpose of halving is to ensure that the rewards for Bitcoin mining continue till the next century. After this time, the miners will make money from the network user fees.
The halving system helps raise bitcoin value and helps lower inflation.
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Hashing
The hashing process helps generate a hash that allows the network to check the validity of a block.
Generating a has is easy and can allow bitcoin fraud. However, the system is designed to be so complicated for simple computer hackers. This is done to ensure bitcoin safety.
Keys and Wallets
Bitcoin transactions are easy and usually involve a middle party. However, it is not impossible to steal bitcoin money and manage huge frauds.
To avoid this, the Bitcoin system has keys and wallets.
To access your personal bitcoin for trade or transaction, you need a wallet. This digital wallet is essentially just a set of keys. This wallet is where you basically store your bitcoin money.
Your public bitcoin key would help identify a blockchain address. While the private key provides you access to your personal Bitcoin wallet. You can safeguard your wallet with a password.
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Is it Safe to Use Bitcoins for Luxury Purchases?
Despite the ever-growing popularity, many big countries like China are still against it. Hence, it is safe to say that bitcoin investment and purchase are controversial options.
Bitcoin is a far more volatile investment than online stocks. One major statement by Elon Musk could make or break its value.
Hence, Bitcoin investment is not for someone who does not completely understand it.
Since money or currency does not exist physically, you cannot completely hide it. Its digital existence leaves it under threat of hackers, online fraud, and theft.
This is why experts recommend that bitcoins should not exceed 5% of your total investments. Many fake bitcoin deals and scam sites could rob your bitcoin wallet in seconds.
Since investment is already a risky situation; it is not for everyone.
Technologically savvy individuals should invest and make purchases using bitcoins. However, if you are new to the trade, do not step into this world without sufficient research.
Check, What Should an Electric Car Parts Company Have?
How to Keep Bitcoins Safe for Online Purchases?
The biggest threat to Bitcoin is the online hackers. These hackers can break into your digital wallet and leave you with nothing.
Hence it is critical that you store your bitcoins safely and keep your digital security high.
Cryptocurrency exchanges or third parties offer storage for your bitcoins through hot wallets, which are far more secure. Ensure that you trade and store your bitcoins on a vigilant platform regarding security measures.
You can also have some exchanges insured to protect yourself in cases of theft. Cold storage through an offline device is recommended as the best protection against online fraud.
Related electric car articles:
- How to Invest in EV Car Charging Stations
- What Would Happen if Everyone Switched to an Electric Car
- How Much Power Does an Electric Car Consume?
- How Long Does It Take To Charge An Electric Car
- Electric Cars vs Hybrid Cars
Final Thoughts
Buying an electric car through bitcoins is legal in the US. However, the related risks make this purchase impossible in many other countries.
Bitcoins indeed are the money of the future. Intelligent investments in this digital currency today could change your tomorrow. Lack of information and experience regarding bitcoin trading and investment could lead to digital theft. Hence, if you are new to this, stick to physical money for your electric car purchase.
My name is Matthew, staying in Seattle, Washington. Electric Vehicles (Electric Cars & Electric bikes) caught my attention for the last few years and my love for electric cars and bikes is everlasting. I spend many of my weekends traveling to various places all over various cities with my electric vehicle (e-bike and electric car). Here I am sharing my expertise, experience, and invaluable information about electric cars and electric bikes. Check out more.