Court Dismisses Dogecoin Manipulation Claims Against Elon Musk and Tesla
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US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Muskâs tweets about Dogecoin were "aspirational and puffery, not factual and susceptible to being falsified."
Elon Musk, along with Tesla, his EV company, successfully dismissed a federal lawsuit that accused them of manipulating Dogecoin, resulting in considerable financial losses for investors.
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan made the ruling on Aug. 29, a court filing shows.
Investors sued Musk and Tesla in June 2022. At the time, Musk faced accusations of manipulating Dogecoinâs price by using his influence through Twitter posts, appearances on âSaturday Night Live,â and other publicity stunts.
Allegedly, he sold Dogecoin during times when his actions, such as changing Twitterâs logo to the Dogecoin Shiba Inu dog, were expected to increase its value. This strategy allegedly allowed him to profit from insider trading.
Further, the lawsuit claimed Musk deliberately manipulated the market through public endorsements and statements about Dogecoin, which misled investors. Also, the suit labeled these actions as âpufferyâ rather than based on facts.
Elon Musk Calls Dogecoin Lawsuit âFanciful Work of Fictionâ
As a result, the plaintiffs demanded $258b in damages, citing an alleged drop in Dogecoinâs value due to Muskâs influence.
But on March 31, 2023, Musk moved to dismiss the lawsuit. In his defense, Muskâs legal team described the claims and the $258b damage request as a âfanciful work of fiction.â As a result, they argued for the case to be thrown out.
Judge Rules Muskâs Dogecoin Tweets Were âPuffery,â Dismisses Fraud Allegations
The judge pointed out that the defendants misinterpreted several of Muskâs tweets about Dogecoin. For example, they misrepresented his claim of becoming Dogecoinâs official CEO and his plan to send a physical Dogecoin to the moon on a SpaceX vehicle.