Tesla’s bid to start accepting bitcoin as a payment option for its cars is alive now, as the automaker’s model configurator pages are displaying bitcoin as an option. Right now, it is for U.S. customers only with consideration to offer it to other markets later on.
The bitcoin payment option comes with some warnings, which are laid out in a three-page document. Tesla asks buyers to take extra care with bitcoin transactions because they will be irreversible. The users must make sure the bitcoin address and price they enter are 100% accurate. Here is the complete Bitcoin Payment Terms & Conditions.
While it may seem the bitcoin payment will be a quick process, it is not. Tesla’s system will take at least 6 hours to process this payment.
“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.”
Furthermore, the bitcoin’s unpredictability is hindering a fixed price cap for transactions. The price will be in the American dollar and it will vary sharply 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.”
Therefore, users require steady hands.
Would other automakers will offer a bitcoin payment option or not, we can’t say anything about it yet. However, one thing is sure. The retailers are not very satisfied with this cryptocurrency’s long-term prospects.
Tesla’s bitcoin payment option is certainly more than facilitation to its car buyers. The bitcoin value has been escalating since the start of this year. Comparing it when the company bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin with today’s market value, Tesla definitely gained a lot.
Tesla intends to keep the bitcoins, according to Musk.
“Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency,” Musk tweeted.
You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2021
Source: caranddriver