Elon Musk Asks Twitter Users if They Want Tesla to Accept Dogecoin

Elon Musk’s Twitter poll comes days after he called Dogecoin a "hustle."

By Reuters | Updated: 12 May 2021 09:51 IST

Elon Musk Asks Twitter Users if They Want Tesla to Accept Dogecoin

Musk's poll on Dogecoin received over 3.3 million responses in the 12 hours since he posted it

Highlights

Musk is a proponent of digital currencies
Dogecoin was last up 9 percent at $0.507 (roughly Rs. 37)
Musk said that SpaceX would accept Dogecoin as payment

Billionaire Elon Musk and cryptocurrency aficionado on Tuesday asked his 54 million followers on Twitter "Do you want Tesla to accept Doge?," referring to a digital currency worth roughly 48 cents (roughly Rs. 35) with no real-world use.

The question, in the form of a Twitter poll, comes days after he called Dogecoin a "hustle," sending the meme-inspired cryptocurrency's price reeling after a 700 percent rally in a month.

Do you want Tesla to accept Doge?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2021

A proponent of digital currencies, the Tesla chief executive made the comment as a guest host on the Saturday Night Live TV show this past weekend.

Musk is one of the world's richest people and owner of several futuristic companies, including SpaceX and Neuralink. He has used his candid Twitter feed to give his opinion on cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, most times affecting their price.

Dogecoin Price Dives After Elon Musk Calls it a 'Hustle' on SNL

In March, Musk said US customers could purchase Tesla vehicles with Bitcoin, marking a significant step forward for the cryptocurrency's use in commerce. The electric-car maker had bought $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 10,930 crores) worth of Bitcoin earlier this year, propelling its prices to record highs.

Based on current prices, one would need nearly 80,000 Dogecoins or 0.7 Bitcoin to buy the cheapest Tesla Model 3 car.

Dogecoin was last up 9 percent at $0.507 (roughly Rs. 37), according to data tracker CoinGecko.com.

SpaceX Plans to Send a Satellite Paid With Dogecoin to the Moon

Musk's poll on Dogecoin received over 3.3 million responses in the 12 hours since he posted it, with nearly 80 percent of the respondents voting to ratify the new payment method.

It comes just days after Musk said that SpaceX would accept Dogecoin as payment to launch a lunar mission next year.

The limited supply of Bitcoin helps drive its value as the digital currency gradually gains acceptance for commercial transactions. Whereas Dogecoin, which began as a social media joke in 2013 with a shiba inu dog as its avatar, has an unlimited supply and remains seldom used to make payments for goods.

Dogecoin jumped more than 700 percent over the last month and is now the fourth-largest digital currency. It hit a record high Thursday above 73 cents.

The billionaire' s tweets have drawn SEC scrutiny in the past, but his recent remarks about cryptocurrencies have not landed in him in any regulatory troubles so far.

Shares of Tesla were down 1.3 percent at $621 (roughly Rs. 45,610) a share in late trading on the Nasdaq after Reuters reported the US electric car maker had halted plans to buy land to expand its Shanghai plant.

Is Mi 11 Ultra the best phone you can buy at Rs. 70,000? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.