TESLA BUYS BITCOINS WORTH $1.5B, ACCEPTS THEM AS PAYMENT FOR CARS

Tesla has invested around $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and said it plans to begin accepting the digital currency as payment for it high-end vehicles soon.

The price of Bitcoin soared 15% to above $43,000 Monday morning, Matt Ott reported for the Associated Press (AP.)

The California-based electric car maker headed by Elon Musk revealed the new strategy in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, saying its investment in digital currency and other “alternative reserve assets” may grow.

Bitcoin rose to $43,863 and briefly hit a new all-time high. Shares of Tesla moved higher as well. In its fourth-quarter earnings report last month Tesla said it had cash and cash equivalents of $19.4 billion.

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said the move gives Tesla “more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on its cash.”

Palo Alto-based Tesla reported its first annual net profit in 2020, and its stock soared to make it the world’s most valuable automaker. Tesla joined the S&P 500 late last year and is currently valued at more than $820 billion.

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