Billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has renewed his support for Bitcoin, emphasizing its energy-based proof-of-work model as a key defense against inflation and fiat currency debasement.
Musk: ‘Impossible to fake energy’
Musk responded publicly to analyst Zerohedge’s remarks on X about government-fueled spending to fund an international artificial intelligence arms race. He stated:
“That is why Bitcoin is based on energy: you can issue fake fiat currency, and every government in history has done so, but it is impossible to fake energy.”
Zerohedge argued that recent price momentum in Bitcoin and precious metals is linked to the “debasement to fund the AI arms race” between major economies like the US and China.
This echoes wider concerns about increasing fiat issuance and its impact on global markets.
This marks Musk’s first major public Bitcoin commentary since November 2022, when he predicted a prolonged “crypto winter” following the collapse of FTX. At that time, Musk wrote:
“BTC will make it, but might be a long winter.”
The FTX failure led to an $8.9 billion loss of investor funds and triggered a significant market downturn.
Tesla’s stance on bitcoin mining and energy
Musk has previously criticized Bitcoin mining’s reliance on fossil fuels.
In May 2021, Tesla suspended Bitcoin payments over such concerns, causing a notable price drop. He later stated Tesla would resume BTC transactions once at least 50% of Bitcoin mining used clean energy.
Recent data modeled by Daniel Batten and Willy Woo shows Bitcoin mining’s sustainable energy usage exceeded 55%, an all-time high.
Tesla has not recently updated its position on accepting bitcoin payments, nor has it sold the majority of its bitcoin holdings.
