Elon Musk and Tesla defend against $258 billion Dogecoin manipulation claim

Musk clears charge: Elon Musk and his company, Tesla, have defended mselves against a federal lawsuit that accused m of defrauding investors through manipulation of cryptocurrency Dogecoin and insider tring. US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, based in Manhattan, delivered ruling on Thursday night.

lawsuit, filed by investors, alleged that Musk, world's richest individual, used his Twitter account, a 2021 appearance on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," and or public appearances to artificially inflate Dogecoin’s value, ultimately causing significant financial losses for investors. 

Dogecoin surge allegations

plaintiffs claimed Musk drove up cryptocurrency's price by over 36,000% within two years, only to let it crash, timing tres to coincide with his public statements and activities related to Dogecoin.

A specific instance highlighted was Musk’s sale of Dogecoin in April 2023 after he changed Twitter's logo to Dogecoin Shiba Inu im, which led to a 30% spike in coin’s value.

Judge Hellerstein ruled that Musk's comments about Dogecoin being future currency of Earth and possibility of using it to purchase Teslas or being launched to moon by X were deemed "aspirational" rar than factual claims. As such, y did t meet criteria for securities fraud. judge also found investors’ claims of market manipulation and insider tring to be unclear and unsubstantiated.

Case dismissed permanently

lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cant be refiled. Investors h originally sought $258 billion in dams and h revised ir complaint multiple times over past two years.

Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, described ruling as a positive outcome for Dogecoin. He emphasized that Musk's tweets were harmless and often humorous, with evidence showing that Musk controlled suspicious tring wallets or that Tesla h engd in sale of Dogecoin.

During his "Saturday Night Live" appearance, Musk h referred to Dogecoin as a "hustle" in a comedic skit. Since purchasing Twitter in October 2022 and rebranding it as X, Musk has maintained a high profile, with his net worth estimated at $239.3 billion by Forbes.

(With Reuters Inputs)