A class action lawsuit filed by Dogecoin investors against Elon Musk has ended. The group accused Tesla’s CEO of manipulating the price of the popular digital currency in 2021, setting up scams and insider trading.
However, they withdrew their appeal after their case was dismissed on August 29.
Both Sides in the Dogecoin Lawsuit Have Withdrawed Their Claims
According to a report from Reuters, investors have also dropped their demand for sanctions against Musk’s legal team. Previously, they accused Musk’s team of interfering in the appeal process and demanding excessive legal fees.
In contrast, Musk and Tesla also withdrew their request to sanction investors’ lawyers, accusing them of pursuing unsubstantiated demands to force a settlement.
Both sides filed an agreement to dismiss the appeal and related motions in federal court in Manhattan. Currently awaiting approval from U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk manipulated the Dogecoin market through tweets, public appearances, and a “Saturday Night Live” appearance, using stated to influence trading activities.
In his August ruling, Judge Hellerstein held that Musk’s tweets, such as claiming Dogecoin could become the “currency of the future” or would be sent to the moon via SpaceX, did not constitute conduct. securities fraud.
He also did not consider investors’ allegations of market manipulation and insider trading convincing.
The investors initially sought $258 billion in damages and revised their complaint several times over two years before the lawsuit was dismissed.
Musk and Trump’s DOGE Initiative Is Going Strong
This year, Elon Musk became the focus of most political conversations due to his strong support for Donald Trump and the Republican party.
After Trump’s election victory earlier this month, he tapped Musk and biotech founder Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new Department of Government Effectiveness. The abbreviation of this division is ‘DOGE’, a reference to this popular digital currency.
Since then, Dogecoin has seen a strong rally, outperforming most other altcoins in the bull market. DOGE has increased more than 130% since the election results and reached its highest level since May 2021.
Meanwhile, Musk has filed a new lawsuit against Sam Altman’s OpenAI. In the lawsuit, Musk mentioned the company’s idea of launching a digital currency in 2018, which he opposed.