Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, the leading global electric vehicle manufacturer, stated in response to a tweet from one of his followers on Twitter regarding technology and cryptocurrencies that he supports cryptocurrencies. The tweet on May 22, 2021, read: "The real battle is between fiat (paper) money and cryptocurrencies. Overall, I support the latter."
In a conversation initiated by Musk himself, comparing magic to technology, he was asked about his opinion on those angry with him over cryptocurrencies. The Tesla CEO responded that "the real battle is between legal tender and cryptocurrencies. Overall, I support the latter." Following Musk's tweet, the price of Bitcoin rose to around $38,150 by 12:27 PM London time.
Musk had previously made similar comments; in December 2020, he tweeted that "Bitcoin is almost like legal currency." In February, he clarified that "when fiat currency has a negative interest due (on deposits), an idiot won’t look elsewhere." He also stated earlier that he would not sell any units of Dogecoin and posted an image of the cryptocurrency on a dollar bill, featuring a Shiba Inu dog instead of a former U.S. president's face.
Bitcoin experienced sharp fluctuations during the last week of trading, following a new warning from Chinese officials about enforcing strict measures against cryptocurrencies. Selling continued on Friday as investor sentiment regarding Bitcoin soured, with frustration over Musk's shift from a previous supporter of the currency, changing a former U.S. president's face on a dollar bill, to a critic of Bitcoin due to concerns over energy usage in its mining.
