The conventional media has expressed mixed emotions about Elon Musk and Tesla’s move into the world of crypto – announcing yesterday that it purchased bitcoin (BTC) worth USD 1.5bn and hinting the carmaker may be set to start accepting crypto pay.

In a damning assessment, Guardian financial columnist Nils Pratley bristled at the idea of Telsa and Musk foraying into crypto, suggesting the latter should “leave punting on bitcoin to the devotees.” “Tesla should stick to what it’s good at,” he wrote, “and that isn’t bitcoin.”

Pratley added,

“The move […] looks like pure speculation. […] This adventure looks to be mostly about Musk’s taste for disruption and publicity.”

Also in the UK, the Financial Times waded into the argument, calling the investment a “bet” and quoting Jerry Klein, managing director at Treasury Partners, a New York-based investment management firm, as stating that the move made “no sense” and was “risky.”

Economist Campbell Harvey, a professor at Duke University, agreed that the move “won’t necessarily provide that hedge that [Musk and Tesla] are looking for.”

Meanwhile, Berlin-based Bloomberg columnist Chris Bryant took a slightly more sympathetic view, writing,

“Accounting rules were created before cryptocurrencies were invented. The bean counters don’t want to be blamed if companies get their fingers burned. Still, with interest rates at zero, I doubt Tesla will be the last tech company to try to earn a better return on its cash holdings.”

Read more: Cryptonews