Investing.com – Investor sues Elon Musk, blaming him for cryptocurrency plunge!
The boss of Tesla (NASDAQ:) and SpaceX was indeed sued for 258 billion dollars on Thursday by an investor who accuses him of having set up a pyramid scheme to support Dogecoin.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, more specifically accuses Musk of racketeering for touting the merits of Dogecoin and driving its price up, only to send it plummeting.
“Defendants knew since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value and yet they promoted it to profit from its trading,” the lawsuit reads, as quoted by Reuters.
“Musk used his pedestal as the richest man in the world to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin pyramid scheme for profit, exposure, and amusement,” the filing also reads.
Note that the complaint also relates to comments by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and others questioning the value of cryptocurrencies. Elon Musk is therefore not the only target.
In addition to a record payout, the plaintiff also demands that Musk and his companies be legally barred from promoting Dogecoin. He is also asking that a judge declare that trading Dogecoin is gambling under federal and New York laws.
Reuters also notes that the complaint says Dogecoin’s downfall began around the time Musk presented NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” calling Dogecoin a “scam” during the show.
Finally, it should be noted that Tesla currently accepts payments in Dogecoin for its merchandising products.