(Reuters) – Tesla’s $1.5 billion Bitcoin investment unveiled on Monday may not surprise CEO Elon Musk’s followers on Twitter, where he has shown himself as a major proponent of the soaring cryptocurrency.
The announcement of Tesla’s investment, buried in Tesla’s 2020 annual report, follows months of tweets by Musk related to cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, sometimes helping fuel its rally.
The cryptocurrency jumped 10% on Monday following Tesla’s disclosure.
(Graphic: Musk’s Bitcoin tweets: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/qmypmwmwgpr/Pasted%20image%201612815114791.png)
In a December exchange on Twitter, Musk asked MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, who recommended Tesla buy Bitcoin, about the possibility of “large transactions” to convert some of