Date: Fri, August 30, 2024, 11:00 AM GMT
Elon Musk has scored a legal victory as a federal court in Manhattan has dismissed a lawsuit accusing him and Tesla of manipulating the price of Dogecoin. The lawsuit, filed in June 2023, alleged that Musk and his company used social media and public endorsements to inflate the value of Dogecoin, a popular cryptocurrency, by over 36,000%.
The plaintiffs claimed that Musk’s frequent tweets and public statements, including a memorable post that simply read “One word: Doge,” were part of a scheme to artificially boost Dogecoin’s price. They also pointed to Tesla’s announcement that it would accept Dogecoin for merchandise as a move designed to drive the cryptocurrency’s value even higher. According to the lawsuit, these actions led to a significant spike in Dogecoin’s price, which eventually fell, allegedly allowing Musk to profit from the decline. The investors sought a staggering $258 billion in damages, accusing Musk and Tesla of insider trading and market manipulation.
However, Judge Hellerstein saw things differently. In his ruling, he dismissed the claims, stating that Musk’s comments about Dogecoin were more aspirational and promotional than fraudulent. The judge highlighted that statements like Dogecoin being the “future currency of Earth” or being used to buy Teslas were not actionable fraud but rather expressions of enthusiasm and marketing.
The court found no substantial evidence that Musk or Tesla unfairly manipulated the market or engaged in trading Dogecoin to their advantage. This ruling has been welcomed by Musk and Tesla, who have maintained that Musk’s remarks were meant to be humorous and not intended to mislead investors.
As of the time of writing, Dogecoin is trading at $0.1017, reflecting a minor change of +0.95% over the last 24 hours.
This court victory is a significant win for Musk, reinforcing his position that his comments about Dogecoin were merely light-hearted and not part of any malicious scheme to defraud investors.
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