Judge Dismisses $258 Billion Claim
Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and owner of social media platform X(formerly Twitter) has won the dismissal of a lawsuit against him. A lawsuit was filed against him and his electric vehicle company Tesla accusing them of defrauding investors by hyping Dogecoin and conducting insider trading.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan dismissed the lawsuit, bringing relief to Musk and his electric vehicle company.
Investors’ Claims Fail to Stick
The lawsuit, which had been amended four times over two years, claimed that Musk used his influence, particularly through Twitter and his appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” to manipulate Dogecoin’s price.
Investors claimed that Elon Musk drove the price of Dogecoin up by 36,000% over the period of two years. He then sold his Doge holdings causing the price to crash. This has caused investors huge financial losses. They also suggested that he was involved in insider trading. He timed his trades to coincide with his public statements.
We all remember the time when Elon changed the logo of Twitter. He changed it from the blue bird to the Dogecoin logo in April 2023. This incident was also highlighted by the investors as it caused the price of cryptocurrency to spike by 30%. Elon is alleged to have sold his Doge holding shortly afterward.
Judge Hellerstein’s Ruling
Judge Hellerstein was not convinced with the claims of investors. He stated that the tweets by Elon Musk related to Dogecoin were mere aspirations. They were not meant to be taken literally. He also pointed out that no reasonable investor could ever rely on such tweets. And this can’t be the basis for a security fraud claim.
Hellerstein also found the insider trading claims too vague, stating that it was “not possible to understand” the accusations. With these conclusions, the judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
A Win for Elon Musk and Dogecoin
Alex Spiro, lawyer of Elon Musk celebrating this win said that it is a very good day for Dogecoin. The legal team of Elon Musk claimed that his tweets were absolutely harmless and there is no evidence of any illegal activity related to Dogecoin trading.
Looking Ahead
Elon Musk has a history of making comic tweets about various cryptocurrencies. His tweets should not be taken as a signal to buy or sell some crypto. As of now, this ruling clears the name of Elon Musk from any wrongdoing with Dogecoin. As for the Dogecoin’s future, we will have to wait and see how this affects its price.
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