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Tesla has begun accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, Elon Musk announced on Twitter Wednesday.
The chief executive said Tesla be using "only internal and open source software" and that it "operates Bitcoin nodes directly."
Tweet Embed://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1374619379929772034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Tesla is using only internal & open source software & operates Bitcoin nodes directly.
Bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency.
Nodes are computers on Bitcoin's peer-to-peer that secure and verify transactions.
Additionally, "bitcoin paid to Tesla will be retained as Bitcoin, not converted to fiat currency," Musk said.
Paying with Bitcoin, said Musk, is only possible in the US at the moment, but he hopes to expand the payment method to the rest of the world soon.
The price of Bitcoin rose around 5% Wednesday following Musk's announcement. The cryptocurrency has skyrocketed about 70% this year.
Earlier this year, Tesla invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency. The investment has likely already netted Tesla nearly $1 billion in profit thanks to its price increase.
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