Elon Musk defends Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao had called out Elon Musk for going “gung-ho” on lesser known Dogecoin.

Elon Musk said bitcoin is slightly better than holding cash (REUTERS)

Elon Musk has defended Tesla's $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao called him out for pushing a lesser-known Dogecoin.

Responding to Zhao, Musk said, “Tesla's action is not directly reflective of my opinion. Having some Bitcoin, which is simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash, is adventurous enough for an S&P500 company.”

Musk added that he was not an investor and that he did not own any publicly traded stocks besides Tesla.

“However, when fiat currency has negative real interest, only a fool wouldn't look elsewhere. Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money. The key word is “almost”,” he followed with another tweet.

To be clear, I am *not* an investor, I am an engineer. I don't even own any publicly traded stock besides Tesla.

However, when fiat currency has negative real interest, only a fool wouldn't look elsewhere.

Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money. The key word is “almost”.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 19, 2021

Earlier, Zhao in an interview with Bloomberg TV said that he was surprised over Musk's push to Dogecoin. Zhao also called out Musk over Tesla's investment in Bitcoin and sought clarification.

Somehow, a hash text file using ancient crypto can be exchanged for real goods & services!? Amazing.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 19, 2021

The exchange of comments comes Bitcoin has hit an all-time high of $51,343 (at the time of writing). The latest rally is said to be driven by the interest shown by established players such as Musk. Twitter and Mastercard are also likely to join the Bitcoin bandwagon.

Dogecoin, in the meanwhile, has also gained traction after staying under the radar for several years. On February 9, Dogecoin registered a 31% jump after Musk and rapper Snoop Dog tweeted about the cryptocurrency, reports Business Insider. Musk has also urged Dogecoin holders to sell their most coins.

Interestingly, Dogecoin had started as a joke in 2013. The token features the face of the Shiba Inu dog from the "Doge" meme as its logo and namesake.