Tesla CEO Elon Musk had been a vocal supporter of Bitcoins for over a year. He had even said that Tesla would accept payments from customers who purchased the car only in Bitcoins. However, he later retracted this offer. Elon Musk now seems to be shifting his loyalties to Dogecoin.
Talking to Time magazine – which recently named him the ‘Person of the Year’, Musk said that Dogecoin was better suited for transactions. Bitcoins, he said, enjoyed greater popularity among investors because Bitcoins hold a larger value of fiat currency.
Elaborating further, he added that Bitcoin was more suited as a store of value. For transactions, the value of Bitcoin was low and the cost per transaction high. He opined that the potential for transaction flow with Dogecoins was higher.
Following Musk’s interview with Time magazine, Tesla announced that, on a test basis, it would accept Dogecoins for payment against the purchase of Tesla merchandise. Musk also tweeted about the same. However, Musk did not list out the merchandise that could be paid for with Dogecoins. Tesla merchandise, which includes ‘Giga Texas’ belt buckles and miniature models of its cars, sell from $50 to $1900.
Tesla merchandise also includes ‘Cyberwhistle’, which is a limited-edition model of the Cybertruck. Tesla also has a quad bike for kids called the ‘Cyberquad’ that is also modeled on the truck.
Expectedly, following Musk’s tweet, the value of Dogecoin experienced a positive impact. Dogecoin witnessed a 24% jump in its value. Dogecoin’s verified Twitter account also tweeted to thank Musk for his endorsement.
Musk had earlier also endorsed Dogecoin against Ether (ETH). ETH is the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain. Musk went so far as to say the Dogecoin was the ‘people’s crypto’.
