Elon Musk Says Bitcoin ‘Less Dumb Form of Liquidity Than Cash’, He Defends Tesla’s $1.5-Billion Investment

Musk’s tweet came in response to an interview of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao who called out Tesla’s Bitcoin investment.

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By Shayak Majumder | Updated: 19 February 2021 17:41 IST
Highlights
  • Elon Musk showed support for Dogecoin on Twitter
  • Musk also changed his Twitter bio briefly to “#bitcoin”
  • Musk’s response came in defence of Tesla move

Elon Musk briefly changed his Twitter bio to simply read “#bitcoin” earlier this month

Elon Musk called cash “dumb” when compared to Bitcoin. The Tesla CEO, who's known for not holding back when it comes to his posts on social media, tweeted on Friday that Bitcoin “is simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash.” He also suggested that fiat currency (government-issued currency) has “negative real interest” and that it would be foolish not to look elsewhere. Tweeting in response to a Bloomberg TV interview, Musk said that having some Bitcoin is “adventurous enough” for an S&P500 company.

Musk's tweet came in response to a Bloomberg TV interview with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange platform by volume. During the interview, Zhao called out Musk's advocacy for Dogecoin. However, Zhao also pointed out that Musk's Tesla invested $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 10,880 crore) in Bitcoin and not Dogecoin.

Responding to this, Musk defended Tesla's move by tweeting, “Tesla's action is not directly reflective of my opinion. Having some Bitcoin, which is simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash, is adventurous enough for an S&P500 company.”

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In the comments on his post, Musk wrote that he is an engineer and not an investor. He clarified that he doesn't own any other publicly traded stock besides Tesla. “However, when fiat currency has negative real interest, only a fool wouldn't look elsewhere,” Musk wrote. “Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money. The key word is ‘almost'.”

Earlier this month, Tesla announced a $1.5-billion investment in Bitcoin and said that it would accept the cryptocurrency from customers who purchase its electric cars. Only the week before, Musk briefly changed his Twitter bio to simply read “#bitcoin.”


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