Dogecoin spikes as Elon Musk says the meme token could pay for Tesla cars one day
- Elon Musk sent dogecoin soaring this week after suggesting the crypto could be used to buy Tesla cars.
- Musk's comments about his enthusiasm for the meme token have sent it soaring before.
Elon Musk's love for dogecoin won't die.
The Tesla CEO sent the meme token soaring Thursday after suggesting it could one day be accepted as payment for Tesla vehicles. It rose as much as 9% before paring some gains in morning trading.
Speaking at an event at Tesla's Berlin gigafactory, Musk said the company should eventually allow customers to purchase vehicles with the Shiba Inu-themed coin, sending dogecoin's price spiking 11% higher in early-morning trading.
"At some point, I think we should enable that," Musk said, according to a video of the event posted by a dogecoin fan account on X on Wednesday evening. "So dogecoin's coming back."
Tesla has accepted dogecoin for merchandise purchases since May 2022, and Musk has a well-documented affinity for the token. The Tesla CEO has touted dogecoin to his followers for years, vowing at one point to literally send doge "to the moon." His comments often send the price of the coin higher.
In 2022, Musk was accused in a lawsuit of operating a dogecoin "pyramid scheme," given his numerous tweets about the crypto that often appeared to influence the price. Musk's legal team has defended his posts on dogecoin, calling them "innocuous and often silly tweets."
Dogecoin has soared in recent weeks amid bitcoin's big rally, but the token is way down from highs achieved during the altcoin boom at the height of the pandemic. In May 2021, it traded as high as $0.73. It was trading at about $0.18 on Thursday.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.