Bitcoins have been dominating financial headlines lately, and more and more retailers have begun to accept them as a form of payment. Even Virgin Galactic allows future astronauts to pay for space flight using bitcoins. There’s also a Subway location which will accept bitcoins as payment for sandwiches, and a number of online retailers will accept them as well. Now a dealership in California has accepted its very first payment in the digital currency. Perhaps fittingly, the buyer purchased a Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S.
Used Tesla sold for bitcoins
The announcement was made on Lamborghini Newport Beach‘s company blog and spotted by Electrek. The auto dealer apparently happened to have one of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s Performance package Model S sedans in their inventory. Since Tesla sells its vehicles directly to consumers through its website, it’s a good bet that the vehicle was used.
It certainly seems pretty natural that the Tesla Model S was bought in California where the vehicle is the most popular, although it is gaining in popularity in numerous markets around the world.
What’s happening to bitcoins now?
Meanwhile the volatility in the bitcoin exchange market continues. Today Japanese exchange Mt. Gox recorded a high price of $1,240 and a low price of $870. That’s quite a difference. Depending on when the person who bought the Tesla Model S obtained their bitcoins, they may have gotten the vehicle for a steal. However, the more bitcoins rise in value, the more expensive that car has gotten.
Today Chinese officials released a statement prohibiting banks in China from actually using bitcoins as a currency. Some have wondered for a while if this would happen. U.S. regulators have taken up the issue recently and see the digital currency as interesting and potentially legitimate. However, in typical U.S. government fashion, we have yet to hear anything concrete on what they would like to do about bitcoins.
