As industry giants like JP Morgan and EY develop projects on the Ethereum platform, there's speculation whether Tesla, the electric vehicle pioneer, might also explore this path.
While it hasn't happened yet, Tesla's co-founder, Elon Musk, created quite a buzz in the crypto world when he hinted at an interest in Ethereum.
Back on April 29th, Elon Musk, the mastermind behind SpaceX and self-labeled as 'Meme Necromancer' on Twitter, casually tweeted just one word: 'Ethereum.' This wasn't his first foray into crypto.
Last autumn, Musk tweeted a random string of numbers, Wanna buy some bitcoin? , an action that led Twitter's security to temporarily suspend his account, suspecting a hacking attempt. On April Fools’ Day this year, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX jokingly referred to himself as the head of Dogecoin. Dogecoin rulz So, Musk’s latest comment was aimed at Ethereum, stirring excitement and optimism among its supporters within the cryptocurrency realm.
Ethereum
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 30, 2019
The excitement was short-lived when, true to his cryptic Twitter style, Musk followed up with 'jk' — just kidding. Critics quickly responded, arguing that Musk was merely poking fun at the Ethereum community. Ethereum Some voices in the cryptocurrency space speculated whether Musk's legal team advised him to soften his initial Ethereum tweets to avoid any legal misunderstandings about market manipulation.
However, that playful 'jk' was not the end. The brains behind Ethereum,
jk
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 30, 2019
invited Musk to attend their upcoming Devcon event in the fall, continuing the conversation. the price of ether (ETH) , the “gas” and native crypto.
In a light-hearted response, Musk jestingly told Buterin to 'stop giving away free ETH!' — referencing Buterin's known stance as the 'Non-giver of Ether' and echoing past scams where impostors claimed to offer free Ethereum. Vitalik Buterin A few hours later, Musk's curiosity seemed genuine when he asked Buterin what developments should occur on Ethereum. This shift hinted that his interest wasn’t just a joke.
Ethereum visionary Vitalik Buterin Engages Musk's Curiosity About Ethereum's Potential
Taking Musk’s question seriously, Buterin launched into a detailed five-part Twitter exposition, detailing his top suggestions for projects suited for Ethereum’s capabilities.
What should be developed on Ethereum?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 30, 2019
Buterin started by highlighting Ethereum's role in creating a globally accessible financial system and secure identity verification for online platforms. He suggested other applications like micropayments, experimental DAOs, and registries on the blockchain.
Further ideas from Buterin included testing novel market structures, private data markets, micro-rewards for content creators, and solutions to reduce spam on social networks.
https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1123137677816000519
Buterin concluded by proposing Ethereum's application in supporting mesh networks and peer-to-peer internet service marketplaces, DNS alternatives, as well as reputation systems in humanitarian or charitable contexts.
https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1123138993191702528
After pitching these insights, Buterin’s session ended. To date, Musk hasn't publicly commented on any of these proposals, possibly needing time to digest the information.
Despite this, it is likely Musk is now more aware of Ethereum's potential applications, even as there's no immediate prospective collaboration with Tesla.
While Tesla's adoption of Ethereum-related micropayments isn't expected soon, Musk's curiosity about crypto seems to be expanding, and enthusiasts within the space are eager for his involvement.
William M. Peaster, a seasoned writer who specializes in the Ethereum, Dai, and Bitcoin segments, has contributed to platforms like Blockonomi and Binance Academy. He has a keen interest in tracking smart contracts and decentralized apps, among other technologies, and is learning Solidity. You can connect with him via Telegram at @wmpeaster.
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