Elon Musk, Tesla Secure Win in Legal Battle Over Alleged Dogecoin Manipulation

Elon Musk and Tesla have secured a win in a federal lawsuit that accused them both of manipulating Dogecoin.

The case, which alleged that Musk's endorsement of the Memecoin along with insider trading caused investors to lose billions, was dismissed by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan on Thursday.

Investors had claimed Musk used his X account (Twitter at the time) and a 2021 appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) and various other methods to drive up Dogecoin's price by over 36,000% over two years before its crash. During the SNL episode, Musk referred to Dogecoin as a "hustle" during a "Weekend Update" skit.

Musk and Tesla profited from the exercise by timing trades through controlled wallets, investors alleged, pointing to an instance in April 2023 in which Musk sold Dogecoin after swapping Twitter's blue bird logo with Dogecoin's Shiba Inu dog. The move led to a 30% spike in Dogecoin's value. Plaintiffs sought $258 billion in damages.

However, Judge Hellerstein said these claims were merely "aspirational and puffery, not factual and susceptible to being falsified." The judge also ruled that the market manipulation and insider trading claims were too vague to pursue, ultimately leading to the lawsuit's dismissal with prejudice, under which the case cannot be refiled.

Alex Spiro who led Musk's legal team stated, "It's a very good day for Dogecoin" in response to the judge's ruling.

Dogecoin's price is down more than 5.5% over the week.