On Friday, Elon Musk requested a U.S. judge to dismiss a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit against him, alleging that he operated a pyramid scheme to promote the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Lawyers representing Elon Musk and Tesla Inc. filed a document in a Manhattan federal court in the evening, stating that the lawsuit brought against Musk by Dogecoin investors is a “fanciful work of fiction.” They argued that Musk’s tweets about Dogecoin are harmless and often silly.
According to the lawyers, the investors failed to provide any explanation on how Elon Musk planned to deceive anyone or what dangers he hid. Additionally, his statements such as “Dogecoin Rulz” and “no highs, no lows, only Doge” were too ambiguous to justify a fraud accusation.
“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 said. “This court should put a stop to plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the complaint.”
The lawyers also refuted the assertion made by the investors that Dogecoin was considered a security, as mentioned in a footnote.
The investors’ lawyer, Evan Spencer, said in an email: “We are more confident than ever that our case will be successful.”
According to investors, who accuse Elon Musk, the second wealthiest person in the world as per Forbes, he intentionally boosted the value of Dogecoin by more than 36,000% over a two-year span and then allowed it to plummet.
The investors stated that this move led to billions of dollars in gains at the expense of other Dogecoin investors, even though Elon Musk was aware that the currency had no inherent value.
The investors also cited Elon Musk’s appearance on a “Weekend Update” sketch of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” where he played a fictional finance guru and referred to Dogecoin as “a hustle.”
The estimated reduction in Dogecoin’s market value during the 13 months leading up to the lawsuit’s filing is three times less than the $258 billion sum claimed in damages.
The Dogecoin Foundation, a non-profit organization, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit and is requesting that the case be dismissed.
Several lawsuits have been filed in response to Elon Musk’s Twitter posts, as he is the owner of the platform.
On February 3rd, Elon Musk emerged victorious in court when a San Francisco jury ruled that he was not responsible for a tweet he posted in August 2018, claiming that he had arranged funding to make Tesla a private company.
The lawsuit is identified as Johnson et al v. Musk et al and is registered under the case number No. 22-05037 in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.
