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Tesla buys $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, will accept as payment soon

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award, in Berlin. Tesla says it has invested more than $1 billion in Bitcoin and will accept the digital currency as payment for its electric vehicles. In a regulatory filing Monday, Feb. 8, 2021, Musk's electric vehicle company said its board approved of the $1.5 billion investment and potentially more in the future. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool Photo via AP, File) FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award, in Berlin. Tesla says it has invested more than $1 billion in Bitcoin and will accept the digital currency as payment for its electric vehicles. In a regulatory filing Monday, Feb. 8, 2021, Musk's electric vehicle company said its board approved of the $1.5 billion investment and potentially more in the future. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool Photo via AP, File)

By MATT OTT AP / Business Writer February 8, 2021 3 min read

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) – Tesla has invested around $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and said it plans to begin accepting the digital currency as payment for its high-end vehicles soon. The price of Bitcoin soared 15% to above $43,000 Monday.

The California-based electric car maker headed by Elon Musk revealed the new strategy in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, saying its investment in digital currency and other “alternative reserve assets” may grow.

Bitcoin rose to $43,863 and briefly hit a new all-time high. Shares of Tesla moved higher as well.

In its fourth-quarter earnings report last month Tesla said it had cash and cash equivalents of $19.4 billion.

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said the move gives Tesla “more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on its cash.”