

Investor's Corner
Tesla’s most-sustainable cryptocurrency options aren’t plentiful but they are ideal
Tesla’s options for a sustainable cryptocurrency to utilize for investments and transactions for its products are not available in plentiful numbers, but they are ideal to fit the automaker’s needs, environmental requirements, and company image.
Yesterday, CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla would be eliminating the ability to purchase vehicles with Bitcoin after citing environmental challenges. “We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Musk wrote in a Twitter post last night. “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.”
Energy usage trend over past few months is insane https://t.co/E6o9s87trw pic.twitter.com/bmv9wotwKe
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2021
Tesla’s mission when it was established in 2003 was to “accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.” After producing all-electric powertrains since 2008 with the release of the original Tesla Roadster, the company has saved over 16.5 million tons of CO2 from being put into the atmosphere, helping move an automotive sector that gas powertrains have dominated since its establishment to more sustainable forms of passenger transportation. Tesla’s backsteps after choosing to invest and accept Bitcoin as a form of payment show that the company is still heavily focused on its business being Earth-friendly well before a car is put on the road. The entire production process, to payment, to delivery, to driving the vehicle itself, must be sustainable.
Typically, cryptocurrencies are not the most environmentally friendly option to use as a payment method. “Digital assets such as Bitcoin have a considerable environmental footprint due to the amount of energy required to power the algorithms behind them,” TRG Data Centers writes. “While this could theoretically be done using renewable energy, in reality, it usually isn’t. China is a leading player in mining for Bitcoin, and 60% of the energy it uses to do so is powered by coal.”
While Bitcoin mining may not be the most sustainable option, other cryptos use a fraction of the energy, and Dogecoin is one of them. Musk detailed that cryptocurrencies are undoubtedly still in the company’s future plans. Tesla will only utilize cryptocurrencies that use less than 1% of the energy required by Bitcoin.
According to research from TRG, several cryptocurrencies utilize significantly less energy than Bitcoin does. It is estimated that Bitcoin requires 707 kilowatt-hours of energy per transaction, meaning Tesla would only consider a handful of options based on the research. These include XRP, known as Ripple (.0079 KWh per transaction), Dogecoin, a personal favorite of Elon Musk’s (.12 KWh per transaction), and Cardan (.5479 per transaction).
Credit: TRG Data Centers
It appears that there are several options on the table. While Ripple is a relatively popular crypto, Dogecoin would likely be the primary coin that Tesla would choose to use just based on the company’s history with it. Recently, Musk surveyed his Twitter followers to ask if Tesla should accept Dogecoin as a payment method, and the results were widely accepting of the idea.
Of course, Tesla could choose to accept several different cryptocurrencies in return for its products. However, there will likely not be an answer to this question soon as Tesla could do extensive research to figure out which option aligns with the company’s sustainability goals the best.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey.
H/t: @Pinoy on Twitter
Investor's Corner
Shareholder group urges Nasdaq probe into Elon Musk’s Tesla 2025 CEO Interim Award
The SOC Investment Group represents pension funds tied to more than two million union members, many of whom hold shares in TSLA.

An investment group is urging Nasdaq to investigate Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) over its recent $29 billion equity award for CEO Elon Musk.
The SOC Investment Group, which represents pension funds tied to more than two million union members—many of whom hold shares in TSLA—sent a letter to the exchange citing “serious concerns” that the package sidestepped shareholder approval and violated compensation rules.
Concerns over Tesla’s 2025 CEO Interim Award
In its August 19 letter to Nasdaq enforcement chief Erik Wittman, SOC alleged that Tesla’s board improperly granted Musk a “2025 CEO Interim Award” under the company’s 2019 Equity Incentive Plan. That plan, the group noted, explicitly excluded Musk when it was approved by shareholders. SOC argued that the new equity grant effectively expanded the plan to cover Musk, a material change that should have required a shareholder vote under Nasdaq rules.
The $29 billion package was designed to replace Musk’s overturned $56 billion award from 2018, which the Delaware Chancery Court struck down, prompting Tesla to file an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court. The interim award contains restrictions: Musk must remain in a leadership role until August 2027, and vested shares cannot be sold until 2030, as per a Yahoo Finance report.
Even so, critics such as SOC have argued that the plan does not have of performance targets, calling it a “fog-the-mirror” award. This means that “If you’re around and have enough breath left in you to fog the mirror, you get them,” stated Brian Dunn, the director of the Institute for Comprehension Studies at Cornell University.
SOC’s Tesla concerns beyond Elon Musk
SOC’s concerns extend beyond the mechanics of Musk’s pay. The group has long questioned the independence of Tesla’s board, opposing the reelection of directors such as Kimbal Musk and James Murdoch. It has also urged regulators to review Tesla’s governance practices, including past proposals to shrink the board.
SOC has also joined initiatives calling for Tesla to adopt comprehensive labor rights policies, including noninterference with worker organizing and compliance with global labor standards. The investment group has also been involved in webinars and resolutions highlighting the risks related to Tesla’s approach to unions, as well as labor issues across several countries.
Tesla has not yet publicly responded to SOC’s latest letter, nor to requests for comment.
The SOC’s letter can be viewed below.
Investor's Corner
Tesla investors may be in for a big surprise
All signs point toward a strong quarter for Tesla in terms of deliveries. Investors could be in for a surprise.

Tesla investors have plenty of things to be ecstatic about, considering the company’s confidence in autonomy, AI, robotics, cars, and energy. However, many of them may be in for a big surprise as the end of the $7,500 EV tax credit nears. On September 30, it will be gone for good.
This has put some skepticism in the minds of some investors: the lack of a $7,500 discount for buying a clean energy vehicle may deter many people from affording Tesla’s industry-leading EVs.
Tesla warns consumers of huge, time-sensitive change coming soon
The focus on quarterly deliveries, while potentially waning in terms of importance to the future, is still a big indicator of demand, at least as of now. Of course, there are other factors, most of them economic.
The big push to make the most of the final quarter of the EV tax credit is evident, as Tesla is reminding consumers on social media platforms and through email communications that the $7,500 discount will not be here forever. It will be gone sooner rather than later.
It appears the push to maximize sales this quarter before having to assess how much they will be impacted by the tax credit’s removal is working.
Delivery Wait Time Increases
Wait times for Tesla vehicles are increasing due to what appears to be increased demand for the company’s vehicles. Recently, Model Y delivery wait times were increased from 1-3 weeks to 4-6 weeks.
This puts extra pressure on consumers to pull the trigger on an order, as delivery must be completed by the cutoff date of September 30.
Delivery wait times may have gone up due to an increase in demand as consumers push to make a purchase before losing that $7,500 discount.
More People are Ordering
A post on X by notable Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt anecdotally shows he has been receiving more DMs than normal from people stating that they’re ordering vehicles before the end of the tax credit:
Anecdotally, I’ve been getting more DMs from people ordering Teslas in the past few days than I have in the last couple of years. As expected, the end of the U.S. EV credit next month is driving a big surge in orders.
Lease prices are rising for the 3/Y, delivery wait times are… pic.twitter.com/Y6JN3w2Gmr
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 13, 2025
It’s not necessarily a confirmation of more orders, but it could be an indication that things are certainly looking that way.
Why Investors Could Be Surprised
Tesla investors could see some positive movement in stock price following the release of the Q3 delivery report, especially if all signs point to increased demand this quarter.
We reported previously that this could end up being a very strong rebounding quarter for Tesla, with so many people taking advantage of the tax credit.
Whether the delivery figures will be higher than normal remains to be seen. But all indications seem to point to Q3 being a very strong quarter for Tesla.
Elon Musk
Tesla bear Guggenheim sees nearly 50% drop off in stock price in new note
Tesla bear Guggenheim does not see any upside in Robotaxi.

Tesla bear Guggenheim is still among the biggest non-believers in the company’s overall mission and its devotion to solving self-driving.
In a new note to investors on Thursday, analyst Ronald Jewsikow reiterated his price target of $175, a nearly 50 percent drop off, with a ‘Sell’ rating, all based on skepticism regarding Tesla’s execution of the Robotaxi platform.
A few days ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company’s Robotaxi platform would open to the public in September, offering driverless rides to anyone in the Austin area within its geofence, which is roughly 90 square miles large.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi is opening to the public: here’s when
However, Jewsikow’s skepticism regarding this timeline has to do with what’s going on inside of the vehicles. The analyst was willing to give props to Robotaxi, saying that Musk’s estimation of a September public launch would be a “key step” in offering the service to a broader population.
Where Jewsikow’s real issue lies is with Tesla’s lack of transparency on the Safety Monitors, and how bulls are willing to overlook their importance.
Much of this bullish mentality comes from the fact that the Monitors are not sitting in the driver’s seat, and they don’t have anything to do with the overall operation of the vehicle.
Musk also said last month that reducing Safety Monitors could come “in a month or two.”
Instead, they’re just there to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Jewsikow said:
“While safety drivers will remain, and no timeline has been provided for their removal, bulls have been willing to overlook the optics of safety drivers in TSLA vehicles, and we see no reason why that would change now.”
He also commented on Musk’s recent indication that Tesla was working on a 10x parameter count that could help make Full Self-Driving even more accurate. It could be one of the pieces to Tesla solving autonomy.
Jewsikow added:
“Perhaps most importantly for investors bullish on TSLA for the fleet of potential FSD-enabled vehicles today, the 10x higher parameter count will be able to run on the current generation of FSD hardware and inference compute.”
Elon Musk teases crazy new Tesla FSD model: here’s when it’s coming
Tesla shares are down just about 2 percent today, trading at $332.47.
-
Elon Musk15 hours ago
SpaceX Starship Flight 10 was so successful, it’s breaking the anti-Musk narrative
-
News23 hours ago
Tesla China working overtime to deliver Model Y L as quickly as possible
-
Elon Musk3 days ago
Elon Musk argues lidar and radar make self driving cars more dangerous
-
News3 days ago
Tesla Model Y L sold out for September 2025
-
Elon Musk6 days ago
Elon Musk takes aim at Bill Gates’ Microsoft with new AI venture “Macrohard”
-
Elon Musk20 hours ago
Tesla reveals it has expanded its Robotaxi fleet in Austin
-
News24 hours ago
Tesla Semi earns strong reviews from veteran truckers
-
News2 days ago
WATCH: SpaceX attempts Starship’s tenth test flight after two delays