Musk decries bitcoin's 'insane' energy use after Tesla payment U-turn

FILE PHOTO: Representations of virtual currency Bitcoin are seen in front of Tesla logo in this illustration taken, February 9, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo/File Photo

(Reuters) -Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk on Thursday denounced the "insane" amount of energy used to produce bitcoin, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns.

Musk, one of bitcoin's most ardent backers, tweeted a graph of bitcoin's power consumption and said: "Energy usage trend over past few months is insane." (https://bit.ly/33BYV8Z)