No buying Teslas with Bitcoin for South Africans

Elon Musk’s company Tesla’s recent purchase of $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and announcement that they are going to start accepting the cryptocurrency as payment shocked and delighted many.

These expensive electric vehicles are not available in South Africa which makes this announcement extra disappointing for Musk and crypto fans.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are incredibly popular in South Africa. Exchanges like Luno and Valr make serious trades with clients eager to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies are a specific type of digital currency. There are a few different types that work off different formats and are created in different ways. Bitcoin, the most well-known of the cryptocurrencies, works off a blockchain.

For those who don’t know, in an extremely simple explanation, people mine Bitcoin using extensive computer power solving difficult maths problems. These are then bought and sold with each transaction registered on a public ledger. The currency is not controlled by anyone, like normal currencies are controlled by governments.

Transacting with cryptocurrencies is a bit tricky, as acceptance of the coins is not uniform. Companies and exchanges are trying to encourage and create growth in this area but there have been significant roadblocks and issues stopping mass adoption just yet.

So while Telsa has said it will likely start accepting payments, other car dealers like Audi, Honda and Toyota haven’t. This means going into a dealership and asking to pay in Bitcoin for your new car will get you laughed at. Meaning you’ll have to wait until wide acceptance of cryptocurrencies occurs before you can start handing over your Bitcoin.

If you happen to do a private sale with a cryptocurrency enthusiast then you can pay for the whole thing at your agreed BTC or ETH price (or Dodgecoin if you’re one of those). Peer to peer transactions is as easy as doing an EFT.

So until there is more adoption or Tesla manages to start exporting to South Africa, fiat (currency) is still likely your best bet.

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