- Elon Musk’s lawyers have reportedly asked a US judge to dismiss a $258 billion Dogecoin lawsuit filed by investors.
- Musk’s lawyers described his Dogecoin statements as “innocuous and often silly tweets.”
Elon Musk and his lawyers reportedly asked a US judge this week to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit filed by investors who claimed that Musk ran a pyramid scheme to promote the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
According to a 1 April Reuters report, Musk’s lawyers called the lawsuit filed by Dogecoin investors against Musk in June 2022 a “fanciful work of fiction” in Manhattan’s federal court on 31 March.
Musk’s lawyers told the courts that his social media support for Dogecoin, including comments like “Dogecoin Rulz” and “no highs, no lows, only Doge,” was too vague to warrant a fraud claim.
The lawyers said:
“There is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion.”
Musk’s lawyers also described his Dogecoin statements as “innocuous and often silly tweets” in an attempt to persuade the judge to dismiss the multibillion-dollar lawsuit.
I will keep supporting Dogecoin
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2022
Musk’s support for Dogecoin
Musk was accused of driving up the price of Dogecoin by over 36,000% over two years and then allowing it to crash, with the initial filing last year alleging that he:
“Used his pedestal as the World’s Richest Man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme.”
According to reports, the investors referred to Musk’s May 2021 Saturday Night Live (SNL) appearance, in which he played “a fictitious financial expert” and called Dogecoin “a hustle,” as a point in their lawsuit.
DOGE dropped more than 25% in the minutes following the SNL show. It went as low as $0.50 from $0.66 at the beginning of the broadcast.
Following his TV appearance, Musk appeared to make several attempts to rekindle public interest in Dogecoin.
Furthermore, during the crypto market collapse in March 2022, Musk tweeted that he would not sell his holdings.
Evan Spencer, the lawyer representing the investors, reportedly believes that “our case will be successful.”