The Cryptocurrency craze seems to be at an all-time high with the prices of Bitcoin have recently surged past $10,000 mark. But one of the common issues with cryptocurrencies is that the process of mining them requires a substantial amount of computing power – which in turn results in bigger electricity bills.
For those unaware, cryptocurrencies require crowdsourced computing power to process transactions and maintain the blockchain, which acts as a ledger of the entire currency. People who contribute to that computing power are called “miners” and they are compensated with the same cryptocurrency. This was an expensive and power-hungry task that could wear out computer components much faster than usual.
For this reason, miners are constantly seeking for cheapest forms of electricity to maximize their profits from mining cryptocurrencies. For instance, in China, miners used hydro energy to drastically bring down the operating cost. The miners are even forming communities so that they can afford the better hardware and increase their chances of mining. Recently, we also heard about many websites trying to mine them through people’s web browser.
But this creative Tesla owner has taken the concept of mining to a whole new level. He seems to have found a more reliable and cheap power source for his mining rig. He managed to fit a legitimate mining rig inside the trunk of his shiny Model S and is using the free energy that comes with the Supercharge network.
This all started when one member of the Tesla Owners Worldwide Facebook group jokingly suggested that fitting a miner inside a Model S could help avoiding huge power bills by relying on electricity from the free Supercharger network. Then this Tesla owner thought this is indeed a good idea, went ahead and did it, posting a photo of his setup.
The shared image of the cryptocurrency mining setup quickly became popular on the Tesla Owners Facebook group. Some members claimed that the mining would generate a lot of heat inside the car, and the battery might suffer due to prolonged usage. Some others suggested that his setup could pull as much as 3 kilowatts of power and would probably require the vehicle’s air conditioning to be on for cooling. However, many have questioned the use of free electric energy for something other than driving.
