Can you buy a Tesla with bitcoin? How the crypto payments might work

If Tesla were to accept bitcoin payments the way some other major companies have, customers would transfer bitcoins from their "digital wallets" to another entity that converts them into, say, dollars

Tesla Inc expects to allow customers to pay for its electric vehicles with bitcoin soon, the automaker said on Monday, a move that could expand how the most popular cryptocurrency is used for real-world transactions.

Although bitcoin has become more of a household name in recent years, it is still mostly used as an investment product rather than a form of payment.

A handful of mainstream brands have allowed customers to make purchases with bitcoin through third-party processors, but Tesla suggested it might accept bitcoin directly as part of a broader plan to incorporate the cryptocurrency into its investment portfolio.

The company made