The infrastructure and tunnel construction firm becomes the third company in the billionaire’s empire to support cryptocurrency.
Elon Musk is a cryptocurrency evangelist.
Under his leadership, Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc. Report invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in February 2021. The maker of premium and luxury electric vehicles also accepted Dogecoin as payment for its merchandise.
Musk went so far as to give a nod to Dogecoin at the official grand opening of Tesla’s Austin factory last April. The serial entrepreneur also regularly interacts with Billy Markus, one of the co-founders of Dogecoin.
The richest man in the world also doesn’t hesitate to come to the aid of Dogecoin when the digital currency needs it most. This is the case in the midst of a crisis of confidence that the crypto industry is currently going through. Musk recently claimed that he was taking advantage of the price drop to personally purchase additional Dogecoins.
Option to Pay a Loop Ride in Las Vegas with Dogecoin Soon
While the value of the 43,200 Bitcoins held by Tesla has fallen sharply to around $902 million from $1.5 billion according to Bitcoin Treasuries as of time of writing, the tech tycoon seems to be keeping his faith in cryptocurrencies. The mogul has just confirmed it once again since another of his companies, The Boring Company has just ventured into the world of cryptocurrencies.
The company known for its tunnels now offers to let consumers and tourists to pay for their Loop rides in Las Vegas with Dogecoin. Basically, The Boring Company offers the option to pay with the meme coin when people take a ride using Tesla vehicles on the company’s Las Vegas transit system called Loop. Tesla has a fleet of vehicles in the Loop. These Tesla cars are driven by humans.
The Loop ride travels at 35 miles per hour (mph), which is significantly lower than the original vision of vehicles moving at 150 mph.
The rides are currently free but The Boring Company plans to charge in the near future. Passengers will pay $1.50 for single rides, while customers can purchase day passes for $2.50.
“Supporting Doge wherever possible,” Musk confirmed on a tweet posted on July 6.
It All Started Like a Joke
The Boring Company’s decision suggests Musk isn’t concerned about a recent complaint filed by an investor accusing the billionaire and his companies Tesla and SpaceX, which accept Dogecoin for merchandise, of promoting a digital currency that’s a pyramid scheme.
The plaintiff, Keith Johnson, is asking for $258 billion in damages for losses, he said, he and others incurred on Dogecoin trades since 2019.
“Dogecoin is not a currency, stock, or security,” Johnson said in the lawsuit. “It’s not backed by gold, other precious metal, or anything at all. You can’t eat it, grow it, or wear it.”
Dogecoin is down 90.4% to $0.070069 compared to its all-time high of May 8, 2001 which was $0.731578.
Dogecoin features the image of the Shiba Inu dog as its logo and namesake. It’s considered the first of the so-called “meme coins,” which are inspired by a meme or has some humorous characteristic.
It was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system as a “joke,” saying that the coin is making fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies.
