Elon Musk has requested that the $258 billion Dogecoin lawsuit against him be dismissed

By: Dickson Arinze

Elon Musk has requested that the $258 billion Dogecoin lawsuit against him be dismissed

April 1, 2023 7:11 AM

In the case, investors cited Musk's portrayal of "a fictional financial expert" during a Saturday Night Live appearance, in which he referred to Dogecoin as "a hustle.

 

Elon Musk and his lawyers are said to have asked a US judge to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit filed by investors who claim Musk ran a pyramid scheme to promote the cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE).


According to a Reuters report from April 1, Elon Musk's lawyers referred to the lawsuit brought by Dogecoin investors in Manhattan's federal court on March 31 as a "fanciful work of fiction."


According to reports, investors accused Musk of driving up the price of Dogecoin by "more than 36,000% over two years and then letting it crash."


Musk's lawyers described his Dogecoin statements as "innocuous and frequently ridiculous tweets" in an attempt to persuade the judge to "throw out" the multibillion-dollar lawsuit.


Musk's lawyers explained that his Dogecoin-related statements, such as "Dogecoin Rulz" and "no highs, no lows, only Doge," were "too imprecise" to support a fraud claim.


"There is nothing illegal about tweeting words of encouragement or funny photographs about a legitimate cryptocurrency with a market cap of roughly $10 billion."


In the case, the investors noted Musk's May 2021 Saturday Night Live (SNL) appearance, in which he acted "a fictional financial expert" and labeled Dogecoin "a racket."

 


DOGE's price dropped by 25% minutes after his SNL appearance, plummeting as low as $.50 from $.66 highs at the start of the episode.


During his televised interview, Musk appeared to make repeated attempts to rekindle public interest in Dogecoin.


Only days later, he told his Twitter followers that he is working with "Doge devs to increase system efficiency," and that it might be "possibly fruitful."


During the March 2022 market crisis, Musk promised his Twitter followers that he would not sell his crypto holdings, which included Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and DOGE.


Evan Spencer, the investor's lawyer, allegedly claimed in an email that "we are more sure than ever that our lawsuit will be successful."