Elon Musk Says Tesla Will Accept Dogecoin Payment for Some Merchandise
Tesla will now accept Dogecoin payments for some of its swag, according to Elon Musk—the founder and CEO of the electric vehicle company.
Dec. 14 2021, Published 12:15 p.m. ET
Tesla will now accept Dogecoin payments for some of its swag, according to Elon Musk—the founder and CEO of the electric vehicle company. What does this move mean for Dogecoin and its investors? Will Tesla eventually accept Dogecoin as payment for Tesla vehicles?
“Tesla will make some merch buyable with Doge & see how it goes,” Musk tweeted on Dec. 14.
Musk’s tweet sent Dogecoin prices up.
The billionaire’s single tweet was good for DOGE. The meme-inspired cryptocurrency skyrocketed to over 20 percent early on Dec. 14.
Tesla-branded merchandise ranges in price from $50–$1,900, but it still isn't clear which items will be available for purchase with Dogecoin.
Elon Musk is the self-proclaimed “Dogefather.”
Musk has been a longtime Dogecoin fan and even proclaimed that he's the “Dogefather.” A series of tweets that Musk made before his April 2021 appearance on Saturday Night Live sent the crypto’s price to a high of over 73 cents.
That’s quite a jump from a year ago when Dogecoin was worth less than a penny. At 11:20 a.m. ET on Dec. 14, DOGE was just shy of 19 cents—down from a high of over 21 cents earlier in the morning.
Dogecoin started in 2013 as a joke between two friends, Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. The crypto gets its name from the “Doge” meme, which features a Shibu Inu dog.
According to CoinGecko, Dogecoin is the tenth-largest digital coin in the crypto market with over a $25 billion market capitalization.
Musk’s influence in the cryptocurrency world was a big factor in the decision of TIME editors to name him Person of the Year for 2021.
“With a single tweet, he can control the stock market or the value of various different cryptocurrencies,” TIME national political correspondent Molly Ball in the Person of the Year announcement posted on YouTube.
SpaceX accepts Dogecoin.
Musk already accepts Dogecoin as payment for SpaceX, which is his space exploration company.
“SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year. Mission paid for in Doge, 1st crypto in space, 1st meme in space. To the mooooonn!!” Musk tweeted on May 9.
If you want to buy a Tesla vehicle with Dogecoin, you’re out of luck, at least for now. Although some Tesla-brand merchandise can be bought with the meme-crypto, Musk didn't say anything about buying a Tesla vehicle with the crypto.
Tesla accepted Bitcoin payments for its vehicles. Earlier this year, the company’s announcement that it would accept Bitcoin payment, which sent the crypto’s price soaring. However, Musk quickly changed his mind.
Is Dogecoin a good investment?
The jury is still out on whether or not Dogecoin is a good investment. Although Musk and others like billionaire Mark Cuban are DOGE fans, some investors think that the crypto is more like a “meme stock” like AMC and GameStop, which are popular among retail investors but hold more risk.
“I’m actually not convinced, somewhat controversially I guess, that Dogecoin is good for the crypto market,” Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of crypto firm Ripple, told CNBC. “It was built as a joke, then it got some momentum from some high-profile people like Elon Musk.”
Musk’s Twitter followers appear to be happy about the announcement. Over 218,000 followers liked his tweet about accepting Dogecoin for Tesla merchandise.
“The $DOGE community will be very happy,” tweeted Jay Hao.
“Thank you bro,” tweeted Lloyd Ostertag.