Days after the March ban on Tesla cars in military complexes, Musk appeared by video at a high-level Chinese forum, saying that if Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, it would be shut down.
China, which powers nearly 80 percent of the global cryptocurrency trade, relies on a particularly polluting type of coal, lignite, to power some of its mining.
"It's no surprise to me, as Chinese capital controls can be challenged by cryptocurrency purchases in the country and transfers out of the country," Adam Reynolds, of Saxo Markets, said.
For an asset class that has surged this year, with dogecoin up about a hundredfold, ether up more than fourfold and bitcoin gaining 45%, some are beginning to call time on the wild ride.
Ecoark intends to convert it into dollars, but Lohstroh plans to hold the bitcoin he mines, which he believes will one day underpin a new global financial system.
"To achieve optimal performance in light of the high demands that exist for cars, software and hardware have to come out of one hand," Diess told Handelsblatt.
"Apple and Tesla have higher competence in terms of how semiconductors are defined," Diess said.
Musk's electric car company has faced questions in recent days following a fatal car crash in Texas and sharp criticism of the company on social media in China.