The electronic currency Bitcoin has been in the news a lot recently. Whether for its massive jump in value or for the increasing number of electronic Bitcoin “heists”. Despite all the hubbub, some people at least are using Bitcoin as actual money. In fact, one of them just bought a Tesla Model S with the digital ducats.
For those of you who haven’t heard, Bitcoin is a digital currency created by private parties that you can “mine” by having your computer run through a complex series of algorithms. Before you get any ideas, at this point, you basically need a supercomputer.
In the last two years Bitcoin has exploded in value and is now accepted by many businesses, including, it would seem, dealerships.
Oddly enough, the unknown individual actually bought the Tesla used from a Lamborghini dealership. The dealership in Newport Beach California, is now accepting Bitcoins for all of its car transactions. It seems awfully fitting to buy a Tesla with Bitcoins, doesn’t it?
This may or may not be a sign of things to come for Bitcoin – or the automotive world. For the time-being, the currency is still a curiosity for most people. There could be some benefits, though, at least for the super rich, when it comes to buying cars with Bitcoins.
If you are buying a super-expensive, bespoke car, chances are you will need to order from the factory. This means dealing with currency exchanges and international banking. Certainly this is not especially challenging, but inconvenient and, depending on exchange rates, expensive.
Bitcoin would allow the super-rich to buy a vehicle in a common currency meaning that the exchange rate would not impact the currency, and you wouldn’t have to deal with any annoying wire transfers.
However, as a single Bitcoin is currently selling for just over one thousand dollars, don’t expect to see too many people buying Ford Fiestas with digital currency for a while yet.
