Playing Both Sides, if You Buy a Tesla (TSLA) with Bitcoin the EV Maker Can Refund You in Dollars or Bitcoin

After Elon Musk tweeted in the middle of the night that his Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) now accepts Bitcoin payments, the world’s largest EV maker published a support page for customers looking to use this option.

The company offers customers two payment options on its website: Pay with a card or Bitcoin.

In case you opt for the latter option, TSLA said it “reserves the right to refund to you either the exact Bitcoin Price that you provided to us at the time of purchase or an amount of US Dollars that is equivalent to the US Dollar price of the product that you purchased.”

Tesla acknowledges that BTC is an extremely volatile currency as it seeks to protect itself from excessive price fluctuations. The company further adds (in capitalized letters):

“THE PRICE OF BITCOIN CAN BE VOLATILE AND THE VALUE OF BITCOIN RELATIVE TO US DOLLARS MAY DECREASE OR INCREASE BETWEEN THE TIME THAT YOU MAKE YOUR PURCHASE AND THE TIME THAT WE PROVIDE A REFUND OR BUYBACK. IF WE REFUND YOU IN BITCOIN, THE VALUE OF SUCH AMOUNT OF BITCOIN RELATIVE TO US DOLLARS MIGHT BE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN THE VALUE OF SUCH AMOUNT OF BITCOIN RELATIVE TO US DOLLARS AT THE TIME OF YOUR PURCHASE.

“IF WE REFUND YOU IN US DOLLARS, THE US DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WE PROVIDE TO YOU AS A REFUND MIGHT BE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN THE CURRENT US DOLLAR MARKET VALUE OF THE AMOUNT OF BITCOIN IN WHICH YOU MADE YOUR PAYMENT.”

The disclaimer also discusses the “Bitcoin price window” term.

“The price of Bitcoin can be volatile and subject to upward and downward movements. You are responsible for initiating a payment of Bitcoin in the exact Bitcoin Price amount indicated on the payment webpage within the Bitcoin Price Window. Each Bitcoin Price will expire after the Bitcoin Price Window. After the Bitcoin Price expires, you will need to request a new Bitcoin Price and Bitcoin Price Window on the payment webpage and you may be required to restart the payment process,” the company adds.

Earlier this year, Tesla said it invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin.

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