Elon Musk Hails Bitcoin as Energy-Based, Inflation-Proof Alternative to ‘Fake Fiat’

Elon Musk has renewed his support for Bitcoin, praising its energy-backed proof-of-work model as a defense against the “fake fiat” debasement driven by governments funding a global AI arms race. The Tesla CEO said Bitcoin’s link to real energy makes it uniquely resilient to inflation and money printing.

• Elon Musk praised Bitcoin as “energy-based” and immune to fiat currency manipulation.
• He warned that AI development spending may lead to massive fiat debasement.
• Musk said, “It’s impossible to fake energy,” underscoring Bitcoin’s real-world backing.
• His comments followed Zerohedge’s post on the global AI funding race.
• Musk’s last major Bitcoin comment was in 2022, predicting a “long winter.”
• Bitcoin mining’s renewable energy usage has now surpassed 55%.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has once again entered the Bitcoin conversation, calling it an energy-based and inflation-proof form of money. Musk emphasized that Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism ties it to real energy expenditure, making it impossible to counterfeit — unlike fiat currencies that governments can print endlessly.

“That is why Bitcoin is based on energy: you can issue fake fiat currency, and every government in history has done so, but it is impossible to fake energy,” Musk wrote in a Tuesday post on X (formerly Twitter).

His comments came in response to an analysis by Zerohedge, which claimed that rising interest in Bitcoin, gold, and silver stems from global fiat debasement — as governments pour trillions into competing AI development programs. Zerohedge described this phenomenon as an “AI arms race” between the United States and China, predicting that massive government-funded capital expenditure would drive inflationary pressure.

Musk’s statement marks his first serious Bitcoin-related commentary in nearly three years. His last major post was in November 2022, shortly after the FTX collapse, when he predicted Bitcoin would survive but face a prolonged “crypto winter.” At the time, BTC had fallen to around $16,000, its lowest level of that bear market.

FTX’s bankruptcy, triggered by the misappropriation of $8.9 billion in user funds, was one of the worst crises in crypto history. Musk’s new comments, however, reflect a shift back toward optimism — positioning Bitcoin as a hedge against global monetary instability.

While Musk has praised Bitcoin’s fundamentals, he has also raised concerns about its environmental footprint. In May 2021, Tesla suspended Bitcoin payments for vehicles due to the network’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels, causing Bitcoin’s price to fall by 6% within an hour. Musk said Tesla would resume BTC transactions once mining used at least 50% clean energy.

That milestone has since been surpassed. According to climate tech investor Daniel Batten and Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo, Bitcoin mining’s sustainable energy usage now exceeds 55%, reaching an all-time high. Despite this progress, Tesla has not yet confirmed whether it will reinstate Bitcoin payments.

Final Thought

Musk’s renewed endorsement of Bitcoin underscores its growing reputation as a store of value amid rising global inflation and AI-driven spending. As nations print more fiat to fund technology races, Bitcoin’s energy-based model — one that’s “impossible to fake” — may once again prove its strength as the world’s most resilient monetary system.