Tesla owner Siraj Raval mines Ethereum by connecting his graphic processing units directly to the car battery. The San Francisco native has found a unique way to mine for cryptocurrencies from his 2018 Tesla Model 3. In an CNBC interview, he revealed that he runs free bitcoin mining software on his Apple Mac mini M1 and powered the computer by plugging an inverter into the 12-volt power socket located in the center console of his car.
In addition to that, Raval attached interconnected graphics processing units or GPUs to the “frunk” of his Tesla, running these machines off the car’s internal battery.Though it risks nullifying his car warranty, Raval says it’s worth it. When the price of ether was at its highest in 2021, Raval claims he was netting as much as $800 a month.
Similar to Raval, Chris Allessi had too tried out a couple of different ways to transform his Tesla Model S into a crypto mining rig. In 2018, Allessi told CNBC he was Wisconsin’s first-ever electric car dealer who decided to fiddle with his Tesla.
In an industry like such where crypto mining is the energy-intensive process in which mchines around the world contribute their computing power to the overall network, to mint new coins and validate transactions of existing tokens. This is done by running specialized software that solves complicated puzzles. To participate, all you require is a computer and power.
Tesla mining profitable but is it worth the hassle?
Whether crypto mining powered by Tesla is profitable or not depends on the year the driver bought their vehicle.
Raval feels optimistic about the earning potential for his Tesla. Though the price of altcoins like Ethereum are prone to volatility, Raval has adopted certain tactics to ensure profitability by staking on an custodial crypto platform that offers him an annual yield of 23% on his investment. He then claims that he never ‘cashes out to U.S. dollars so that his crypto nest egg keeps growing’. Raval also buys his GPUs from eBay to cut cost.
In this way over the course of 2021, he was able to earn anywhere from around $400 to $800 a month.