Elon Musk Says Bitcoin May Have Already Hit His Renewable Energy Benchmark

“I’d like to do some more research to confirm that it’s likely that the percentage of renewable energy use is 50% or more, and that it’s trending upward,” Tesla’s CEO said.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted that the crypto industry is moving toward a greener future, but Tesla won’t accept Bitcoin payments just yet.
Musk said at "The ₿ Word," a virtual bitcoin conference that included Musk, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Ark Investors founder Cathie Wood and host Steve Lee of Square Crypto, that Tesla would "probably" consider reinstating bitcoin payments for its vehicles — a policy Musk said in May the company would discontinue — but said he needed to investigate before making a decision.
Musk said: "Bitcoin's energy use seems to be trending positively." He also expressed doubts about the speed at which the Bitcoin network is moving towards green energy. "It is basically impossible to double or triple the total energy volume using renewable energy in such a short period of time... Tesla's mission is to accelerate the development of sustainable energy. We can't do this company without doing a proper investigation into Bitcoin's energy use."
He added:
“Bitcoin appears to be moving more towards renewable energy, with some heavy coal plants that were clearly being used in the past having been shut down. I’d like to do some more research to confirm that renewable energy usage is likely at 50% or above, and that this number is trending upwards. If so, Tesla will resume accepting Bitcoin.”

In May, Musk announced that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin payments because the network was "increasingly using fossil fuels." The price of the crypto asset subsequently fell below $40,000 for the first time since February. The Tesla CEO later clarified that the company would resume Bitcoin transactions when it is confirmed that miners are using more than 50% clean energy and there is a "positive future trend."
Musk also responded to accusations from professionals that he orchestrated a pump-and-dump scheme given his social media posts about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin. He said that the only three "significant" assets he owns besides SpaceX and Tesla stock are BTC, DOGE, and ETH, and that neither he nor Tesla has sold any Bitcoin since announcing the suspension of cryptocurrency payments.
“If the price of Bitcoin goes down, I lose money,” Musk said.
“I might pump the price up, but I’m not going to sell. I absolutely don’t believe in pumping the price up and then selling.”
As Cointelegraph previously reported, Musk said in April that Tesla had sold part of its Bitcoin holdings to prove the liquidity of the asset as a cash substitute, with a net gain of about $272 million at the time. He did not disclose how much crypto assets he personally owns, but said that even his one-year-old son owns some Dogecoin. (Cointelegraph)