Tesla launches Dogecoin payments for merch, but there’s a catch

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla now accepts Dogecoin (DOGE) as payment for the company’s merchandise. DOGE-eligible products in the Tesla store can be purchased by sending DOGE to Tesla’s Dogecoin wallet. 

Although it now accepts DOGE, the firm also clarified that it is not taking any other crypto. The company stated that it cannot receive other assets but DOGE on its website. The business told customers that “non-Dogecoin digital assets sent to Tesla will not be returned to the purchaser.”

Additionally, items purchased with DOGE “cannot be returned, exchanged or canceled.” Tesla considers all sales made through DOGE as final and cannot be exchanged for cash. 

Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 14, 2022

Dogecoin creator Billy Markus instantly replied to the announcement, rallying the Dogecoin community. “Alright Dogecoin community, you know what to do,” Markus tweeted.

The community was quick to respond. Some tweeted that they already purchased items using DOGE. Only minutes after the announcement, Twitter user Komaandy Dogecoin already posted a screenshot of their order online, saying, “Tesla Tequila on the way to Germany!”

Related: Dogecoin creator slams Mozilla for pausing crypto donations

A month ago, Tesla confirmed that it was going to start accepting DOGE for merch purchases. The announcement resulted in a 25% price increase for the memecoin at the time. On Friday, just a few hours after implementing DOGE payments, the asset’s price saw an 18.63% gain. 

Back in December, Musk expressed his thoughts about DOGE, comparing it to Bitcoin (BTC). According to him, “even though it was created as a silly joke, Dogecoin is better suited for transactions.” He stated that DOGE is slightly inflationary, and this encourages people to spend it rather than using it as a store of value. 

Meanwhile, Tesla may not be the only company to start implementing crypto payments this year. A survey conducted by Visa shows that small and mid-sized businesses are also set to adopt crypto payments in 2022.