With the entire cryptocurrency market currently tanking and major crypto firms becoming insolvent, one would think Elon Musk might reflect on some of his recent statements with a little contrition. After all, Musk is a big proponent of cryptocurrency, right?
"I have never said that people should invest in crypto," Elon Musk told the crowd during his virtual appearance at the Qatar Economic Forum after he was asked about the present state of cryptocurrency.
Musk continued. "In the case of Tesla, SpaceX, myself, we all did buy some Bitcoin, but it’s a small percentage of our total cash assets," he said.
This appears to be true, technically. Musk does not seem to have ever uttered the words "people should invest in crypto" or any sort of similar straightforward investment recommendation regarding cryptocurrency.
So, where would people get the idea to invest in cryptocurrency because of Elon Musk then?
Musk has sure had a lot to say about cryptocurrencies over the years. And some of it has been quite promotional, so much so that it would be easy to see how someone would think Musk was offering investment advice. Or at least strongly hinting at such.
Most people with an interest in Musk consume his words on Twitter, where he is one of the platform's top users, closing in on 100 million followers. Here's a compilation of just some of the things Musk has said regarding cryptocurrencies on Twitter:
Let's start with the time Elon Musk announced that his company, Tesla, would start accepting Bitcoin for vehicle purchases. Given that you have to buy Bitcoin to, well, spend it, and given that another way of saying "buy" is "invest in," that seems rather promotional to me.
Musk later reversed course and suspended vehicle purchases via Bitcoin due to the negative environmental costs that were only later apparently explained to him.
But, Musk also felt the need to reiterate how much he still believed in crypto after his decision to suspend Tesla purchases with Bitcoin.
And, of course, Tesla isn't the only Elon Musk company that promotes cryptocurrency.
Musk previously announced that SpaceX was going to launch a satellite literally named after the meme-inspired cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. The "mission" was also going to be paid for in Dogecoin as well as make history by making Dogecoin the "first crypto in space."
Speaking of Dogecoin, it's obvious the token is Musk's favorite cryptocurrency as he's plugged it more than any other crypto.
Here's Musk simply stating "Dogecoin rulez."
Here's Musk plugging Dogecoin as the "people's cryptocurrency." In a follow-up he also explained to the "people" that there's "no need to be a gigachad to own" Dogecoin.
Here's Musk soliciting for developers to help build out Dogecoin.
This is Elon Musk saying he would "eat a happy meal on TV if McDonald's accepts Dogecoin." Again, people would need to acquire Dogecoin to use it!
And here's his most recent plug of Dogecoin, tweeted during the big crypto crash which brought the crypto from its all-time high of 70 cents – which occurred when Elon Musk appeared on Saturday Night Live and plugged Dogecoin on network television – down to around five cents.
"I will keep supporting Dogecoin," tweeted Musk.
When he was asked to keep buying by another Twitter user, he replied: "I am."
And then there's Elon Musk's bizarre, not-so-subtle mentions of memecoins like Babydoge and Shiba Inu, both which pumped as a result of Musk's Twitter shout outs.
Musk also appears to view crypto as a direct competitor to fiat currency and not just an investment vehicle.
To be fair, Musk has admitted that there are better things to invest in…even though he once again felt the need to hedge and share that he's still bullish on cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Dogecoin
But yes, after looking through Musk's Twitter history, he does appear to be correct. He has never directly told people to invest in cryptocurrency.
So, remember, as Elon Musk would say: "Cryptocurrency is promising, but please invest with caution!"
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