San Francisco resident Siraj Raval uses his 2018 Tesla Model 3 to mine Ethereum cryptocurrency.
According to the crypto enthusiast, he launched free mining software on an Apple Mac mini M1 computer by connecting it to the car's center console. Five graphics cards are powered by a Tesla battery.
Raval estimates that he mines on a Tesla battery for about 20 hours a day. The monthly cost of recharging the car, subject to its use and for its intended purpose, ranges from $ 30 to $ 60.
For additional income, an American never cashes cryptocurrency and transfers Ethereum to a custodian investment platform to receive interest income. In his assembly, he uses only used video cards purchased from eBay.
Siraj Raval claims to have earned between $ 400 and $ 800 per month during 2021, making Tesla mining profitable even during a bear market.
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Yet early Tesla Model 3 hacker Thomas Somers questioned the potential for such a high income.
“The best estimate I would give for the GPU hashrate in Model 3 would be around 7-10 MH/s. Currently, at 10 MH/s, this will generate about $ 13.38 in revenue in Ethereum excluding any costs, ”Somers said. He also criticized Raval's approach, who had to hack the car's internal firmware to run his power-hungry system. Somers is convinced that this step was unnecessary.
“The car has already been built to deliver more than 100 kilowatts, and everything connected with it will be only a part of this power. There is no technical need to do what Raval says,” the hacker said.
The experts added that the profitability of Tesla mining will depend on when it is acquired by the owner. Until 2017, cars could be charged for free at branded Supercharger stations.
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K-Man YouTube author Chris Allessi also used a Tesla battery to mine altcoins in 2018 with an Antminer S9 connected to it. He estimated that during that period, in 60 hours of mining, he could have mined $ 10 worth of bitcoins, and that would have been profitable thanks to free electricity.
However, even with such a benefit, Alessi wonders why deliberately wear out a car that costs between $ 40,000 and $ 100,000. He calculated that now mining Bitcoin on Tesla can bring the owner at least $ 1 or $ 2.
Siraj Raval is not embarrassed by the skepticism of those around him. He hopes to make his Tesla a fully autonomous robotic taxi that earns cryptocurrency while not driving.
“The car will use revenues from transportation and cryptocurrency mining services to pay for its expenses such as repairs, electricity costs, and upgrades, as well as invest them in various assets,” Raval said.