U.S Judge rules “no reasonable investor” will regard Musk’s Dogecoin tweets

The lawsuit accusing the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, and his electric car firm, Tesla, of manipulating the price of Dogecoin and causing losses of $258 billion, has just been dismissed.

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the complaint on August 29.  According to Judge Hellerstein, the defendants misrepresented in multiple ways what Musk had tweeted about Dogecoin, including that he would take on the role of formal CEO and that he might place a “literal” Dogecoin inside a SpaceX rocket and send it to the moon.

“No rational investor could rely upon these statements as they are aspirational and puffery, not factual, and subject to falsification.” In June 2022, a group of angry Dogecoin investors filed a lawsuit against Musk and Tesla, demanding an astounding $258 billion in damages from Musk.

Dogecoin’s price increased by “more than 36,000% over two years,” according to the investors, who said Musk should have let it crash. Additionally, they asserted that Musk had “managed and operated the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme using his pedestal as the richest man in the world.”

Elon Musk filed a request in Manhattan federal court on March 31 to dismiss such a complaint. Musk’s attorneys called the lawsuit’s allegations and its request for $258 billion in damages a “fanciful work of fiction.”

Following the termination announcement, Dogecoin’s price stayed unchanged despite gaining 0.1% over the previous day. According to Binance data, Dogecoin is currently trading for $0.10 and has dropped a fifth of its value over the past month

The world’s richest man currently has a net worth of $234 billion.  Musk owns nearly 42% of SpaceX, the world’s most valuable start-up, estimated to be worth $210 billion.