https://ift.tt/3qkaNs9 Ethereum with the Tesla Model 3

Siraj Raval revealed how much he earns mining Ethereum with his Tesla Model 3. 

Ethereum mining with a Tesla

Raval is a Chief Data Scientist, as well as a YouTuber, and some time ago he installed a small mining rig in the frunk of his Tesla, consisting of five GPUs connected to the car’s battery.

He recently revealed that during 2021 he earned between $400 and $800 per month. 

Raval didn’t disclose the cost of this business though, so it wouldn’t really be known what the real profit was, but he bought his Tesla Model 3 when the company was still offering free recharges for life. So it’s possible that all the electricity Raval used didn’t cost him a single dollar.

In order to do this, he had to hack into the car’s operating system, take control of it, and make some changes that voided the manufacturer’s warranty. In fact, according to some, prolonged mining could significantly affect the life of the car’s batteries, which are the single most expensive component of the entire Model 3.

The cost of mining with Tesla

So while the cost of the raw material for mining (electricity) may have been zero in this case, the physical consumption of the batteries due to the inevitable wear and tear from continuous use may have been significant. 

It is therefore impossible to calculate how much the net gain really was, also because it is not known when Raval sold the ETH obtained in this way. 

Probably if the electricity used had also been paid for, the business could have been loss-making, especially if the price of this electricity, including various taxes, had not been particularly cheap. 

The profitability of Ethereum mining

It is worth noting, however, that the value of ETH over the past twelve months has increased by almost 200%, so 2021 has been a golden year for its miners. 

It is enough to consider that in October 2020 the profitability of ETH mining was below $0.03 per day per Mhash/s, while in mid-May 2021 it had increased almost tenfold. 

It is now back below $0.05, which is still 66% higher than at the end of 2020. 

It is therefore possible that Siraj Raval’s Tesla Model 3 is now able to mine ETH for amounts well below $800 per month, which is the amount it is supposed to have collected in May 2021.  

This is also because Ethereum’s mining hashrate is at an all-time high, with 980 Thash/s being exceeded for the first time in its history on 9 January 2022.