Tesla Starts Offering Bitcoin Payment Option On Its Car Configurator Page

At the start of 2021, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk hinted at accepting bitcoin as a payment option for the company’s vehicles and now they have started taking orders through bitcoin. Tesla model configurator pages now show this option at the bottom. Currently, the bitcoin payment option is accessible to American car shoppers only. However, the company is contemplating giving this choice to other countries in future.

As with every contract, the bitcoin payment option comes with some warnings, which the company has penned down in a three-page document. The document says bitcoin transactions are irreversible, so users need extreme care when entering the bitcoin address and price. Furthermore, Tesla asks users to use a single electronic wallet to allow them to process the orders quickly.

Here is the entire Bitcoin Payment Terms & Conditions.

While it looks bitcoin payments are quick, the reality is otherwise. A transaction may take up to up to six hours.

"Once you send Bitcoin from your wallet, the page will refresh within one minute. If it does not refresh, do not send a new payment," Tesla warns. "We will email you a confirmation once payment is received. This can take up to six hours to process."

Owing to bitcoin’s instability, the electric car automaker is asking the price in US dollars instead of a fixed price. It means the bitcoin price will vary throughout the day.

"If you choose to make a payment using Bitcoin, you must pay an amount of Bitcoin that is of equivalent value to the U.S. Dollar purchase price of the product that you purchase," the automaker says. "We will provide you with a U.S. Dollar price for the product or service that you are purchasing, as well as a Bitcoin equivalent price (the 'Bitcoin Price'). You must initiate the transfer of the Bitcoin Price to us within the time period that we provide to you together with the Bitcoin Price (the 'Bitcoin Price Window'). If you do not initiate the transfer of the Bitcoin Price to us within the Bitcoin Price Window, the Bitcoin Price will expire, and we will provide you with a new Bitcoin Price and Bitcoin Price Window upon your request."

In other words, users need steady hands.

Whether other carmakers will offer the bitcoin payment option or not only the time will tell. The cryptocurrencies’ volatility is the biggest question mark for retailers.

"Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency," Musk tweeted.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374617643446063105

Source: caranddriver