Tesla, Musk Oppose Shareholder Motion To Ditch Cryptocurrency Because Of Energy & Climate Damage
Telsa Inc. is trying to fend off investor scrutiny of its cryptocurrency holdings, in part by citing CEO Elon Musks mixed messages on bitcoin. The electric vehicle giant says it uses cryptocurrency as a hedge against rising inflation a claim that some experts noted was undermined by the recent crash in the value of cryptocurrencies. The company held nearly $2 billion in bitcoin at the end of 2021, securities filings show.
At issue is a proposal submitted to Tesla by an Icelandic investor that the company wants to avoid bringing to a vote at its next annual shareholder meeting. Filed last October, the previously unreported resolution calls for Tesla to liquidate within five business days newly-acquired cryptocurrency assets and fully divest from existing cryptocurrency assets (including mining hardware) within one year.
Karen Róbertsdóttir, the author of the proposal, argued those steps are necessary because of the massive energy consumption required to process bitcoin transactions. She noted that much of that power, which rivals that of some small countries, is generated from fossil fuels (Greenwire, Feb. 25). This is a massive step backwards for Teslas mission of accelerating the worlds transition to sustainable energy, Róbertsdóttir wrote.
EDIT
Tesla is fighting the resolution because its unnecessary and overly prescriptive, Tesla Managing Counsel Xuehui Cassie Zhang told the Securities and Exchange Commission. The letter was dated Jan. 24 but only posted to the SEC website last week. As an example, because the Companys Chief Executive Officer has been very vocal about reducing the [greenhouse gas] footprint of cryptocurrencies, the Company ceased accepting Bitcoin and has decided to accept Doge because of its lower GHG impact, Zhang wrote. She was referring to dogecoin, a cryptocurrency named after an internet-famous shiba inu. Initially created as a joke, the value of the digital token briefly skyrocketed last year after Musk began tweeting about it. One dogecoin is now worth 12 cents, down more than 31 percent since the beginning of 2022.
EDIT
https://www.eenews.net/articles/tesla-fights-shareholder-push-to-ditch-carbon-rich-crypto/