Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, hinted at the possibility of integrating Dogecoin as an official payment method for Tesla vehicles during an interaction with the public at the Tesla manufacturing plant Berlin Gigafactory on March 13. In response to an audience member's query about the potential use of DOGE for purchasing Tesla cars, Musk expressed a positive stance, suggesting that such an integration could happen "at some point."
Musk's affirmative response ignited excitement among investors, leading to a sudden surge in Dogecoin's market price. Following Musk's remarks, the token's value experienced a notable uptick, rising from $0.172 to $0.188, marking a 9.3% increase as the video of his interaction gained traction. Musk emphasized that fans can already use Dogecoin to buy Tesla merchandise, reinforcing his support for the altcoin by referencing its journey to "the moon."
The Tesla CEO's backing of Dogecoin stems from requests made by employees at Tesla's Gigafactory and visitors to SpaceX, urging him to embrace the cryptocurrency as an official payment method. Musk characterized Dogecoin as "the people's cryptocurrency," indicating his willingness to support it. In contrast, Musk noted his inclination to support cryptocurrencies favored by the masses, such as Dogecoin, as opposed to Bitcoin, which he observed is backed by wealthy individuals.
Tesla had initially announced plans to accept Dogecoin as payment for its products starting January 14, 2022. However, the company clarified that it exclusively supported Dogecoin payments, with any other digital assets sent to Tesla not being returned to the purchaser. Meanwhile, speculation has arisen within the crypto community regarding the potential integration of cryptocurrencies into the "XPayments" feature of the "X" app (formerly Twitter), expected to launch in mid-2024. However, it remains uncertain whether Musk will extend support for Dogecoin beyond Tesla merchandise purchases.
