Overview of the Lawsuit
There’s trouble in the world of crypto, and who’d have thought it would involve the man with the most tweets? Elon Musk is currently dodging a substantial $258 billion lawsuit filed by investors who claim he ran a pyramid scheme to pump Dogecoin. Yes, the same dog-inspired cryptocurrency that has had more ups and downs than a game of Whac-A-Mole!
Claims of a Pyramid Scheme
The lawsuit, filed in June 2022, paints a vivid picture where Musk allegedly drove Dogecoin’s value to the moon—literally a 36,000% increase—before letting it crash. How? Well, according to the investors, he leveraged his status as the richest man in the world to manipulate the market. It’s a tale of crypto triumph mingled with financial despair!
The Defense: Just Tweets, Folks!
Musk’s trusty lawyers came swinging. They called the lawsuit a “fanciful work of fiction” and argued that Musk’s tweets—like “Dogecoin Rulz” and “no highs, no lows, only Doge”—were innocuous at best. No legal repercussions for tossing out some light-hearted tweets, right? After all, everyone loves a good meme!
Innocent or Manipulative?
The lawyers claim that there’s absolutely nothing illegal about your average guy expressing support for a cryptocurrency. They even had the audacity to refer to Musk’s social media activity as “silly tweets.” It’s quite a defensive stance, considering the financial chaos that followed!
The Saturday Night Live Bombshell
Things took an interesting turn during Musk’s Saturday Night Live cameo in May 2021. While portraying a fictitious financial expert, he labeled Dogecoin as “a hustle.” The world collectively gasped, and DOGE’s value plummeted. One moment it was soaring high, and in the next, it took a nosedive of over 25%—talk about bad timing!
The Aftermath: A Glimmer of Hope?
Even after the SNL debacle, Musk tried to get the crypto train back on track. He announced through Twitter that he was collaborating with