Elon Musk makes a U-turn, backs Bitcoin as ‘it is impossible to fake energy’ — What this means

Elon Musk on Tuesday changed his stance on Bitcoin once again, this time rallying behind the cryptocurrency that US President Donald Trump has supported since returning to office earlier this year.

In a post on X dated 14 October, the Tesla CEO said Bitcoin’s energy-based foundation is precisely what makes it valuable — a U-turn from his 2021 criticism.

Elon Musk was replying to a user's post on X that claimed governments are funding the “artificial intelligence arms race” by printing money, which is driving prices of gold, silver and Bitcoin to new highs.

“But you can’t print energy,” the user wrote.

Elon Musk agreed, writing: “True. That is why Bitcoin is based on energy: you can issue fake fiat currency, and every government in history has done so, but it is impossible to fake energy.”

Bitcoin's energy use

Bitcoin consumes energy through a process called mining. The process requires intense amounts of energy, or more precisely, electricity, to power computers and solve complex mathematical puzzles.

Through Bitcoin mining, the network is secured and new BTC enter the system.

Elon Musk's Bitcoin story

In early 2021, Elon Musk briefly became one of Bitcoin's most influential supporters.

The cryptocurrency rallied at the time due to Musk's support, especially when Tesla began accepting Bitcoin as a valid payment method to purchase its cars. On X, users called him the messiah of decentralisation.

However, the enthusiasm was short-lived. The market cap of Bitcoin vaporised overnight over a single tweet made by the Tesla CEO, calling the network’s electricity use “insane,” citing data from Cambridge University’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.

The downfall continued as Tesla stopped accepting Bitcoin as a method of payment and later shed 75% of its BTC holdings in 2022, for a rough amount of $936 million.

However, Tesla at present still holds 1,509 BTC, worth $1.3 billion, according to on-chain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. This is down from a peak of 43,200 BTC holdings in 2021. The fact that Tesla still has BTC investment indicates that Elon Musk never really left the building; he just switched off the lights.

Since then, Musk's tone on Bitcoin has shifted drastically. During his fallout with Donald Trump earlier this year, the Tesla CEO said his newly floated “America Party” will embrace cryptocurrency.