Elon Musk says he’s going to put Dogecoin on ‘the literal moon’
It might be April Fools' Day for a few more hours, but this is no joke.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday (April 1) he would put “a literal Dogecoin” (pronounced “dohj coin”) on the “literal moon.”
SpaceX is going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moonApril 1, 2021 See more
Although some questioned whether Musk was joking in light of it being April Fools' Day and his reputation for making off-the-cuff remarks, others, including CNBC space reporter Michael Sheetz, suggested Musk could very well be telling the truth.
“I know it’s April Fool’s but I don’t for a second question that he means this,” Sheetz tweeted, to which Musk replied: “After all, SpaceX’s first payload to orbit & back was a wheel of cheese.” (SpaceX did in fact deliver a wheel of cheese to orbit in 2010, during a test flight of its Dragon cargo spaceship.)
After all, SpaceX’s first payload to orbit & back was a wheel of cheese …April 1, 2021 See more
The self-proclaimed “techno-king of Tesla,” Musk, 49, is an ardent supporter of cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin and bitcoin. In February, Tesla announced that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. One month later, Musk said Tesla would accept it as payment for its vehicles.
You can now buy a Tesla with BitcoinMarch 24, 2021 See more
SpaceX has not yet made a similar announcement.
Musk also famously launched his own cherry-red Tesla Roadster into space with the first test flight of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, in February 2018. The Roadster has since passed by Mars and is still orbiting the sun.
Related: SpaceX founder Elon Musk is now the richest person in the world
Dogecoin, which originally started as a joke, was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. The cryptocurrency, which uses a Shiba Inu as a mascot, is “an open source peer-to-peer digital currency, favored by Shiba Inus worldwide,” a description on Dogecoin.com states.
The cryptocurrency can be obtained in several different ways: purchased, traded on an exchange or “mined.”
This is not the first time Musk has mentioned Dogecoin’s presence on the moon. In February, Musk tweeted a meme of a Shiba Inu in a spacesuit on the moon holding a Dogecoin flag.
Literally pic.twitter.com/XBAUqiVsPHFebruary 24, 2021 See more
The price of Dogecoin skyrocketed following Musk’s tweet, as its value rose nearly 30% to $0.70 just minutes after Musk’s proclamation.
It’s unclear if Musk was serious about sending Dogecoin to the moon, but the company could potentially make that happen, given its lunar exploration plans.
In August 2020, Space.com reported that SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft could reach the lunar surface with NASA payloads as soon as 2022. And in February, NASA said it would use SpaceX to provide launch services for parts of its ongoing Gateway project, an upcoming outpost that orbits around the moon.
As Business Insider notes, the physical coins are sold as memorabilia but do not function as currency.
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One Tweet Is All It Takes – Elon Musk Sends Dogecoin’s Price Up 30% In Minutes Again
Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) – The U.S. auto industry sees President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package as accelerating a global shift toward electric vehicles, thanks to the $174 billion proposed for charging stations, planned consumer rebates for American-made EVs and a pledge to electrify the government’s fleet.The proposal, which requires congressional approval, is likely to be targeted by progressives as too little in scope and by Republicans as unfairly using taxpayer funds to help the alternative energy sector while harming others, such as the oil industry. Market researchers, oil-energy advocates and other critics warn that it may not be enough to make a dent in the sale of gas guzzlers in the U.S. any time soon.“The numbers tell the current story,” Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, which conducts market research for auto dealers. EVs made up only 2% of new car sales in 2020, while SUVs and pickup trucks comprised about 70%. “However, we know there is interest in EVs. Our consumer survey on upcoming EV pickup trucks showed interest, especially among young buyers.”Biden’s plan directs $174 billion to electric vehicles, including sale rebates and tax credits for consumers to buy American-made cars, in addition to industry incentives. The centerpiece of the plan made public Wednesday is to help build a national network of half a million charging stations through grants to state and local governments and the private sector.“Efforts that incentivize wider-scale EV adoption, build out the necessary infrastructure, and facilitate consumer awareness are essential components to EV market expansion,” said John Bozzella, president and chief executive officer of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association that represents major automakers such as Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., Stellantis NV, Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.Installing charging stations nationwide is something industry and environmental groups regard as essential to increase the adoption of electric vehicles by consumers worried about getting stranded on a long road trip in an electric car.“Seeing chargers everywhere will make consumers feel comfortable purchasing electric vehicles,” Katherine Garcia, deputy director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All program, said in an interview.The 500,000 charging stations is “of critical importance,” said Genevieve Cullen, president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, which represents companies that stand to benefit from the move such as GM, the utility CenterPoint Energy Inc., and the electric vehicle charging network EVgo Services LLC. “It’s the right start.”The plan to wean American motorists off gas-powered automobiles is part of a broader $2.25 trillion infrastructure blueprint that also calls for sweeping spending to achieve the White House’s climate goals – such as net-zero emissions in the U.S. by 2050. It also comes in stark contrast to former President Donald Trump, who rolled-back fuel economy requirements put in place by his predecessor and called for an end to a key EV consumer tax credit seen as helping to launch the industry.‘Green Tidal Wave’“The combination of a Biden administration and a blue Senate sets the stage for a green tidal wave in the U.S. to kick off, with electric vehicles the centerpiece,” said Dan Ives, a senior equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities wrote in a research note Wednesday. “For the EV sector, the Street has been awaiting this day since Biden was elected.”Shares of EV makers may get a fresh lease on life from Biden’s plan. EV stocks had rallied hard last year, partly in anticipation of more favorable industry policies after the election, but the intense investor enthusiasm had started showing signs of strain this year, as sentiment toward risky, high-multiple stocks soured amid a rise in Treasury yields.EV stocks gained in trading Thursday. Tesla Inc. rose more than 3% while smaller companies that typically take their trading cues from Tesla rose, too, with Workhorse Group Inc., Lordstown Motors Corp., Nikola Corp., Nio Inc., XPeng Inc. and Fisker Inc. all higher.Some critics of Biden’s plan questioned whether the scope will even come close to what is needed to shift consumers from gas-powered vehicles.The 500,000 charging stations “wouldn’t even amount to 50% of what is needed in California alone,” said Tom Pyle, a former Trump adviser and the president of the American Energy Alliance, a free-market advocacy group. “The notion it would be built in the U.S. with union paying jobs is also a fantasy when you consider the entire supply chain is based in China.”“It’s a pipe dream built on a foundation of lies,” Pyle said.Biden also called for the electrification of the federal government’s entire fleet of more than 600,000 vehicles – including the U.S. Postal Service, which recently earned scorn of environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers for selecting the military and emergency truck maker Oshkosh Corp. for part of a $6 billion contract for more than 100,000 mail-delivery vans over Workhorse Group.U.S. Versus China“It forces the U.S. Postal Service in the game,” said Scott Sklar, director of sustainable energy at George Washington University’s Environment & Energy Management Institute. “The U.S. government is a huge customer so that could propel the U.S. EV industry into a world leadership position vis-a-vis China.”Congress in the coming months is expected to put its own flourishes on the final package — which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she wants to see completed by July 4.Among likely candidates for inclusion is a $454 billion plan to remove gas-power vehicles on the road by 2040, a measure championed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as the expansion of an existing $7,500 consumer tax credit for the purchase of electric vehicles.Senator Debbie Stabenow and Representative Dan Kildee, both Michigan Democrats, are working with the White House and Democratic leadership on a plan to do away with an existing 200,000-vehicle per manufacturer cap on the tax credit. Among possible tweaks to the credit are making it refundable and targeting it better toward middle and lower-income motorists.(Updates with EV shares in 12th paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Dogecoin Jumps After Musk Promises ‘Literal’ Moonshot
Cryptocurrency markets have matured in the past 12 months, with macroeconomics and blockchain-technology developments influencing prices more than ever and new Wall Street firms buying in seemingly every other day.
So it’s refreshing that dogecoin (DOGE), which was created in 2013 as a joke, continues to be a source of amusement even as it, too, shows signs of leaving its playful puppy days behind.
The digital token, symbolized by the Shiba Inu dog breed, shot up to a six-week high Thursday after a tweet by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur whose DOGE-friendly announcements earlier this year have also led to rapid price increases.
“SpaceX is going to put a literal dogecoin on the literal moon,” Musk tweeted at around 10:25 UTC (6:25 a.m. ET) today. Musk’s tweet did not explain how this seemingly impossible feat would be accomplished, as by definition digital currencies have no physical structures and therefore aren’t literal anythings. Perhaps the tweet being sent on April Fool’s may have had something to do with it.
April Fool’s Day joke or not, the tweet by the noted DOGE whisperer sent the cryptocurrency bounding from roughly $0.053 to $0.070, according to data provider CoinGecko. The 32% rise took the cryptocurrency to the level last seen on Feb. 13 and marked the end of a week-long slumber in the range of $0.050-$0.055. The token’s market capitalization is now $8.2 billion.
Dogecoin 5-minute chart Source: TradingView
Musk has previously called dogecoin “the people’s crypto” and the cryptocurrency of Mars.
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The billionaire investor also warned of too much concentration in the cryptocurrency in February, triggering a price drop. Last month, Musk supported the idea of DOGE’s listing on the U.S.-based Coinbase exchange.
While it appears as though the price of dogecoin is at the mercy of Musk’s usually humorous tweets, largely because of the publicity he’s given it, the digital token is now actually being used for purposes that are not just about speculation and yuks.
Companies such as medical-supplier CovCare, sports brand Wooter Apparel and basketball team Dallas Mavericks have adopted dogecoin as an alternative means of payment. Meanwhile, the surge in the token’s price has caused technical development on the cryptocurrency to resume, threatening to turn the lighthearted token into a much more serious breed of DOGE.
Should that happen, the world of crypto will have a little less joy in it.