Lamborghini Dealership Sells Cars for Bitcoins

You can buy an electric vehicle with bitcoin and also charge it with the distributed virtual currency.

AccessTimeIconDec 7, 2013 at 12:40 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 10, 2021 at 12:03 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Not only can you buy an electric vehicle with bitcoin, but you can also charge one with the distributed virtual currency.

Newport Beach Lamborghini has taken bitcoin as payment for a Tesla Model S sedan. It also plans to continue accepting it for payment for its stock of performance vehicles.

And electric vehicle (EV) owners can now recharge their car's battery using a Miami station that will only take BTC.

"We have a Tesla Model S and charging station purchased from bitcoin investments and only accept bitcoin," said Michael Sholl, a network security engineer by trade and the owner of the charging station at his home in Miami, Florida. "There were zero chargers within several miles of my home and thought it would be fun to set this up as an experiment."

"Bitcoin paid for the car and charger and it seems appropriate to support the bitcoin economy that paid for these benefits," he said.

car-bitcoins

According to Sholl's information on Recargo, which maps out EV charging locations, the price per charge is $10. Sholl told CoinDesk that the process works like this:

  1. Customer calls to make a reservation
  2. They accept or reject the reservation based on availability
  3. Customer arrives and is greeted
  4. Customer sends payment to either randomly generated code for the specific transaction, or general code posted by the charger if nobody is physically available to take payment
  5. Customer plugs in the 100-amp connection and charges their vehicle

The charging station's BTC payment system uses Coinbase. In fact, when the bitcoin payment processor realized that it would be used to refuel EVs, it tweeted out this message.

coinbasetweet

Sholl believes bitcoin provides better peace of mind than other methods of payment for EV recharging. This is especially true with cash, whereby "folks might assume we have cash on-site. This assumption is not good for the security of my fiancee and two-year-old," he said.

He also said that the payment process is so simple and doesn't require any human interfacing while he is away from his home for work.

"It's easier to take payments while I travel for work [since the] QR code is posted on the side of the house near the charger."

Sholl was quite an early adopter and believer in bitcoin.

"I realized the potential of bitcoin in October of 2012 after reading the whitepaper and purchased several thousand BTC at that point in time. No regrets since then despite the perceived volatility of bitcoin," he said.

Tesla Model S image via Shutterstock

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


Read more about