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Space Bitcoin surges to record high as Tesla announces it has invested $1.5bn and will take it as payment
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Subscribe Already subscribed? Log in SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer award, in Berlin, Germany on 01 December 2020 ((EPA)) Leer en Español Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Your support makes all the difference. Close Read more Bitcoin has surged to a record high after a major announcement of support from Tesla .
The electric car company said it had invested $1.5bn (£1bn) in the cryptocurrency and would start taking it as payment.
Bitcoin's price surged around 14 per cent immediately after Tesla's announcement, soaring higher than ever before.
Tesla's shares also increased in the wake of the announcement.
Tesla made the investment after it "updated its investment policy" so that it could put its cash into other assets, it said. That could include "certain specific alternative reserve assets", it announced in a filing with the SEC.
"Thereafter, we invested an aggregate $1.50bn in bitcoin under this policy," it said in the same statement.
"Moreover, we expect to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which we may or may not liquidate upon receipt."
Elon Musk , Tesla's chief executive, has been especially vocal in recent days in his support for both bitcoin and cryptocurrency generally. Days ago, he added the word "bitcoin" to his bio, alongside its "B" logo, but it has since been removed.
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