(Reuters) â Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk denounced the âinsaneâ amount of energy used to produce bitcoin on Thursday, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns.
Bitcoin fell more than 10% after Musk, one of its most famous backers, tweeted his decision to suspend its use, less than two months after Tesla began accepting it as payment for its electric cars. Other cryptocurrencies, including ethereum, also fell before regaining some ground in Asian trade. Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment, Musk tweeted on Wednesday.
May 13, 2021
published at 2:53 AMReuters
A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin and U.S. One Dollar banknotes are seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken January 8, 2021.
Reuters/Dado Ruvic
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) will no longer accept bitcoin for car purchases, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday, citing long-brewing environmental concerns for a swift reversal in the company s position on the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin fell more than 10per cent after Musk tweeted his decision to suspend its use, less than two months after Tesla began accepting the world s biggest digital currency for payment. Other cryptocurrencies, including ethereum, also fell before regaining some ground in Asia trade.
COVID-19 Ushers in Era of Big Government Spending in Australia
Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced a spending bonanza in Tuesday night’s budget speech, signalling a complete shift by the normally fiscally conservative Coalition government.
Frydenberg has defended the budget, which allocates billions across most sectors of society, manifesting in the form of tax breaks, job training programs, and boosting of critical services. It also precedes the next federal election, which is due between August and May next year.
“This has been the most significant economic shock since the Great Depression,” Frydenberg told the ABC, saying the impact of COVID-19 “dwarfed” the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
12 May 2021
Solar photovoltaic pioneer Professor Martin Green says solar module prices will continue to plummet, reaching 10 US cents per watt by 2023, around half their current prices, resulting in what he called “insanely cheap electricity.”
He said this would translate into power purchase agreements “routinely” worth just 1 cent per kilowatt hour. He said this is around one-fortieth of what Sydney residents like him are currently paying.
Speaking at the Smart Energy Council in Sydney, he said this could lead to a massive proliferation of solar energy, which would pose a new problem: what to do with all the surplus solar-generated electricity when traditional demand is low?