24 Mar 2023 00:00:00 AM Breaking News
UAE: Public holidays announced for National Day, Commemoration DayCoronavirus: UAE reports 1,491 Covid-19 cases, 1,826 recoveries, no deathsUAE health alert: Can you cope with masks for long hours? Should mask breaks be introduced?Breaking: UAE lifts all movement restrictionsLife after COVID-19: Retail Industry witnesses shift towards e-commerce globallyCOVID-19 impact: Yes, it’s time for Dubai business to restartCOVID-19 response: DIFC to gradually reopen businesses from WednesdayCOVID-19 response: DIFC to gradually reopen businesses from WednesdayDubai 22K gold price touches Dh200 a gram for first time in nine yearsCoronavirus: UAE announces 624 new cases, 11 deathsCOVID-19: UAE announces 462 new casesCoronavirus: UAE announces 549 new cases, 9 deathsSmall group of employees behind fraud at NMC Health, says B.R. ShettyCOVID 19: UAE announces 4 deaths, 518 new coronavirus cases and 91 recoveriesUAE announces 490 new coronavirus cases, three deathsCoronavirus: UAE announces 432 new Covid-19 cases on WednesdayCovid-19: UAE announces 300 new cases of coronavirusCOVID-19: Disinfection drive extended to 24 hours in DubaiUAE announces recovery of two new coronavirus patientsPanasonic CEO vows to ‘eradicate’ money-losing businessesEmirates to carry over 6,500 passengers to Dubai for Amway’s largest leadership gatheringTrading of Emirates NBD Bank’s rights issue to take place this NovemberSelling pressure on Emaar drags DFM 1.3% lowerEmirates NBD hires Standard Chartered's Patrick Sullivan as CFOWorld Bank chief asks India to reform financial sectorEarly settlement charges on home loans in UAE reducedBreast Cancer Awareness: How to do a self-exam and why it is a mustDFM surges 4.8 percentageas Emirates NBD hikes foreign stakes limitMcDonald’s enlists Alexa and Google to help with its hiring84-year-old Indian man goes skydiving in DubaiUAE in Space: Have questions for Hazza on the ISS?Indian minister seeks direct flight between Bhubaneswar and DubaiExpo 2020 dome now complete, marking new milestone for UAEEmirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri undergoes final test as lift-off nearsSoftBank triples net profit in Q1Microsoft 'listens' to conversations, but only with permissionChina warns India of ‘reverse sanctions’ if Huawei is blockedStocks, oil edge higher as trade-war panic easesTens of thousands losing jobs as India's auto crisis deepensSerena again tops Forbes list of highest-paid sports womenDubai equity traders get a reason to cash out ahead of holidaysRight time to invest? UAE equities attractive on low valuations, positive indicatorsIndian rupee hits 19.21 vs UAE dirhamHumid and dusty weather in UAE until Eid weekendHeathrow airport strike: Emirates issues travel advisoryEid Al Adha 2019: Four-day holiday in UAEEid Al Adha to be celebrated on August 11 in UAENissan, Renault eye restructuring for Fiat merger: report Nissan controls 15 per cent and has no voting rights in Renault

Tesla can now be bought for bitcoin, Elon Musk says

 Tesla Inc customers can now buy its electric vehicles with, its boss, Elon Musk, said on Wednesday, marking a significant step forward for the cryptocurrency’s use in commerce.

“You can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin,” Musk said on Twitter, adding that the option would be available outside the United States later this year.

The electric-car maker said last month it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for cars, in a large stride toward mainstream acceptance that sent bitcoin soaring to a record high of nearly $62,000.

Bitcoin, the world’s biggest digital currency, rose more than 4% after Musk’s tweet and was last trading at $56,429.

Musk said bitcoin paid to Tesla would not be converted into traditional currency, but he gave few other details on how the bitcoin payments would be processed. The company was using “internal & open source software”, he said.

Most mainstream companies such as AT&T Inc and Microsoft Corp that allow customers to pay with bitcoin typically use specialist payment processors that convert the cryptocurrency into, say, dollars and send the sum to the company.

Like other cryptocurrencies, bitcoin is still little used for commerce in major economies, hampered by its volatility and relatively costly and slow processing times.

Musk, who regularly posts comments on Twitter about cryptocurrencies, last month criticised conventional cash, saying when it “has negative real interest, only a fool wouldn’t look elsewhere”.

He had said that the difference with cash made it “adventurous enough” for the S&P 500 company to hold the cryptocurrency.

Following Tesla’s investment in bitcoin, companies including Mastercard Inc and Bank of New York Mellon Corp have embraced the emerging asset, sparking predictions that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will become a regular part of investment portfolios.