By John McCrank
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bitcoin’s price tumbled after Elon Musk said on Wednesday his electric car maker Tesla Inc would no longer accept the cryptocurrency for purchases, citing environmental concerns for the reversal.
Here are some of Musk’s comments on bitcoin and other cryptocurrenies like Ether and Dogecoin, some of which moved the digital assets’ prices:
Nov. 27, 2017: Musk denies a theory he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin, tweeting https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/935329447594541056, “Not true. A friend sent me part of a BTC a few years, but I don’t know where it is.”
Feb. 22, 2018: Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/966602470431473664?lang=en: “I literally own zero cryptocurrency, apart from .25 BTC that a friend sent me many years ago.”
Oct. 22, 2018: Musk temporarily lost Twitter access after tweeting https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1054520588734058496, “Wanna buy some bitcoin?”
Feb. 19, 2019, Musk called bitcoin’s structure “quite brilliant” on a podcast https://ark-invest.com/podcast/on-the-road-to-full-autonomy-with-elon-musk with ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood. “But, I’m not sure it’s the best use of Tesla’s resources to get involved in crypto. We’re really just trying to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy, and it’s like, quite energy intensive.”
April 2, 2019, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1113009339743100929?lang=en: “Dogecoin might be my fav cryptocurrency. It’s pretty cool.”
April 29, 2019, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1123034747460972545?lang=en: “Ethereum,” and, “jk.”
May 15, 2019, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1261416824459030529, in response to “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, “… massive currency issuance by govt central banks is making Bitcoin Internet money look solid by comparison,” and, “I still only own 0.25 Bitcoins btw.”
July 2, 2020, Musk responded to “Star Trek” actor William Shatner with, “I’m not building anything on ethereum. Not for or against it, just don’t use it or own any.”
July 17, 2020, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1284291528328790016?lang=en a meme implying Dogecoin would become the standard of the global financial system, “It’s inevitable.”
Dec. 20, 2020, Dogecoin soared after Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1340590280848908288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw, “One word: Doge.”
Dec. 20, 2020, in a Twitter https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1340678358456274948?lang=en exchange with MicroStrategy Inc Chief Executive Michael Saylor, Musk asks about converting “large transactions” of Tesla’s balance sheet into bitcoin.
Jan. 29, Bitcoin spikes after Musk adds #bitcoin to his Twitter bio, tweeting https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1355068728128516101?lang=en, “In retrospect, it was inevitable.”
Feb. 1, Musk says on social media app Clubhouse he supports bitcoin, which was “on the verge of getting broad acceptance” and that he was “a little slow on the uptake.”
Feb. 4, Dogecoin surged more than 60% after Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1357241340313141249 “Dogecoin is the people’s crypto.”
March 2, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1366808202701012995?lang=en, “Scammers & crypto should get a room.”
March 12, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1370449101402353669, in reference to his tunneling company, “BTC (Bitcoin) is an anagram of TBC(The Boring Company) What a coincidence!”
March 24, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374617643446063105: “You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin,” and “… Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency.”
April 1, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1377567762919292938: “SpaceX is going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon.”
April 15, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1382552587099062272?lang=en: “Doge Barking at the Moon.”
April 28, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1387290679794089986: “The Dogefather SNL May 8,” ahead of hosting Saturday Night Live.
May 7, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1390522866979033092: “Cryptocurrency is promising, but please invest with caution!”
May 9, Dogecoin tanked after Musk called the cryptocurrency “a hustle” on SNL. Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1391523807148527620: “SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year – Mission paid for in Doge – 1st crypto in space – 1st meme in space To the mooooonnn!!”
May 11, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1392030108274159619: “Do you want Tesla to accept Doge?”
May 12, Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1392602041025843203 Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin as a payment, and “Energy usage trend over past few months is insane.”
(Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Richard Chang)
