In Brief

Far Out! Tesla's Model S Is 1st Car Purchased with Bitcoin

News
By Denise Chow
published

Tesla Model S Sedan.
Tesla Model S Sedan. (Image credit: Tesla)

The future is here, folks. An electric car was recently purchased in California using only Bitcoins, the ultramodern, digital-only currency that is quickly taking hold among businesses and consumers.

A Tesla Model S was sold for an undisclosed Bitcoin price by Lamborghini Newport Beach in Costa Mesa, Calif., reported the Christian Science Monitor. The electronic transaction marks the first time a Tesla — or any other car — has been purchased with Bitcoins, or encrypted, digital currency that was introduced in 2009. These decentralized funds rely on peer-to-peer computer networks to maintain transactions and regulate the creation and trading of Bitcoins.

"Lamborghini Newport Beach is proud to announce that we are fully capable of accepting Bitcoin as payment for vehicles," the auto dealer declared on the company's blog. "We are excited to be opening the door to this new currency."

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Denise Chow
Denise Chow
Live Science Contributor

Denise Chow was the assistant managing editor at Live Science before moving to NBC News as a science reporter, where she focuses on general science and climate change. Before joining the Live Science team in 2013, she spent two years as a staff writer for Space.com, writing about rocket launches and covering NASA's final three space shuttle missions. A Canadian transplant, Denise has a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, and a master's degree in journalism from New York University.