The electric car movement, specifically Tesla, is facilitating a sort of fusion between car people and computer people. Those who like computers are beginning to like cars, and starting to see real potential in the bid to make money with minimal effort.
One Tesla owner told CNBC that he is able to mine $800 per month in cryptocurrency using his car. Stripped down to basics, all crypto miners really need is a power source and a computer.
“In industry speak, crypto mining is the energy-intensive process in which machines around the world contribute their computing power to the overall network, in order to create new coins and validate transactions of existing tokens. They do that by running specialized software that crunches complicated math equations,” according to the article.
Now, to deem it “MacGyvering” or “jury-rigging” is a bit unfair. To pull a MacGyver or jury-rig something is to create a temporary fix with minimal tools. The people behind crypto mining with their electric vehicles are putting great engineering, effort and expertise to work and finding the tools to make it possible.
Siraj Raval, who claims to make $800 from crypto mining in his 2018 Tesla Model 3, said he used free mining software, 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.”
He also told CNBC he hooked up interconnected graphics processing units or GPUs to the “frunk” of his Tesla, and was able to run the machines off the car’s internal battery – which does come with the risk of voiding his vehicle warranty.
Bitcoin miner Alejandro de la Torre explained for the article that mining from a Tesla is really just like connecting to any other power source.
“The main component is the price of the electricity. If it’s cheaper doing it through an electric vehicle, then so be it,” he said.
Chris Allessi, who custom builds electric cars and calls himself a modern day Doc Brown, told CNBC that he also tinkered with his Tesla to transform it into a crypto mining machine. He did this with the help of a power inverter in his bid for Bitcoins and via the car’s internal firmware for altcoins.
Out of all the methods he has attempted, he claims the most profitable is a mix of hacking Tesla’s internal computer and plugging GPUs into the car’s electric motor. He describes it as a computer with wheels and said it is incredibly simple to hack – it basically means hijacking the Tesla’s internal firmware in order to allow for extra power usage.
This method has prompted some debate between Tesla-touting crypto miners, with Tesla hacker/miner Thomas Sohmers telling CNBC that the firmware step is unnecessary and “doesn’t make technical sense.”
The method, in theory, checks all the boxes for mining, according to experts: power, space, and cooling are the essentials.
Is the effort gimmicky or worth it? That is also debated.