A high-profile 2022 class-action lawsuit lodged by a group of disgruntled Dogecoin investors, alleging that the technology entrepreneur manipulated the price of DOGE through his social media posts and public appearances, was withdrawn by the plaintiffs.
Dogecoin Lawsuit Against Elon Musk And Tesla Ends
In a Nov. 14 filing, Musk’s legal team informed a Manhattan federal judge that both parties had agreed to withdraw their respective motions, thus ending the two-year-old litigation. The plaintiffs also agreed to withdraw their appeal from the Second Circuit of Appeals and not seek any post-judgment relief from Musk and his electric car maker, Tesla.
The Tesla/SpaceX CEO initially won the suit in August after U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein declared that his public comments about Dogecoin were merely “aspirational and puffery”.
However, the investors appealed the decision and sought sanctions against Musk’s lawyers, claiming interference in the appeal process. Meanwhile, Musk and Tesla had submitted a motion to sanction the investors’ attorneys for pursuing what they deemed a “frivolous” case with continuously changing legal theories aimed at “extorting a quick handout.”
But, both parties filed a stipulation dismissing the appeal and related motions on Thursday in Manhattan federal court, awaiting approval by Judge Hellerstein.
The lawsuit alleged that Musk made misleading statements about Dogecoin through his frequent Twitter posts and his appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, which caused investors to suffer massive financial losses.
Some of the alleged misleading assertions included Musk stating how the O.G. meme coin could become the standard for the global financial system and that he would take a “literal” DOGE to the moon.
With his frequent mentions of Dogecoin in 2021, the crypto token’s price rocketed from just under 10 cents to above 70 cents.
Musk, DOGE, And D.O.G.E
The timing of the Dogecoin investors dropping their case against Musk is rather interesting. Notably, it happened the same week the billionaire was officially appointed to lead President-elect Donald *****’s new Department of Government Efficiency — an acronym that matches Dogecoin’s ticker.
The so-called D.O.G.E agency aims to streamline the U.S. government by cutting bureaucracy, reducing costs, and creating a leaner, more accountable structure. The talk of the new department has boosted Dogecoin’s standing in the mainstream.
In addition to attaching Dogecoin to America’s political dialogue, Musk hinted earlier this year that Tesla could start accepting the doggy-themed meme coin as payment for its EV cars “at some point.”
Dogecoin was changing hands for $0.3738 as of press time, more than doubling in value since Nov. 6. The crypto is now the sixth most valuable crypto with a market capitalization of $55.5 billion, as per CoinGecko data.