Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has asked a US judge to throw out a $258 billion lawsuit brought against him by dogecoin investors. They alleged that the billionaire operated a pyramid scheme to promote the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. “There is nothing illegal about tweeting words of support or funny images about a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to have a market capitalization of nearly $10 billion,” Musk’s lawyer argued.
Elon Musk Wants Court To Dismiss Dogecoin Investor Lawsuit
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and Twitter, asked a US judge on Friday to throw out a $258 billion lawsuit alleging he operated a pyramid scheme to promote the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE). The lawsuit, Johnson et al v. Musk et al, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Musk and his companies, Tesla and Spacex, “falsely and misleadingly assert that dogecoin is a legitimate investment when it has no value at all.”
In a formal request filed Friday, Musk’s legal team described the lawsuit brought by dogecoin investors as a “fanciful work of fiction” about Musk’s “innocuous and often silly tweets” about the meme cryptocurrency. They argued that investors did not clarify how Musk intended to defraud someone or what risks he was hiding. They also argued that the Tesla CEO’s comments, such as “Dogecoin Rulz” and “no ups and downs, just Doge,” were too ambiguous to support an allegation of fraud.
Musk’s lawyers detailed:
There is nothing illegal about tweeting supportive words or funny images about a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to have a market capitalization of nearly $10 billion… This court should put an end to the plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the lawsuit.
Musk’s legal team also disputed the claim by DOGE investors that dogecoin met the criteria to be classified as a security. While US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has said in a few interviews that all crypto tokens except bitcoin are securities, many people have argued that his view is not the law.
However, Evan Spencer, the attorney representing dogecoin investors, stated in an email: “We are more confident than ever that our case will succeed.”
According to investors, Musk intentionally increased the value of dogecoin by more than 36,000% over two years, only to later let it crash. They claimed this resulted in billions of dollars in profit for Musk, while other dogecoin investors suffered, even though Musk knew the meme cryptocurrency lacked intrinsic value. Additionally, investors cited Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he played a fictional financial expert and referred to dogecoin as “a hustle.”
Despite the lawsuit, the head of Tesla and Twitter confirmed that it will continue to buy and support DOGE. Musk is known in the dogecoin community as Dogefather. His electric car company, Tesla, accepts the meme’s crypto for some merchandise, and earlier this year he reaffirmed that he will eat a McDonald’s Happy Meal on TV if the fast-food chain accepts dogecoin payments.
Do you think the judge should dismiss the lawsuit against Elon Musk by dogecoin investors? Let us know in the comments section.
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