Elon Musk sets record straight on crypto lawsuit; says ‘I will keep supporting Dogecoin’

Responding to the $258 billion lawsuit filed against Elon Musk for his alleged cryptocurrency pyramid scheme, the tech mogul-cum billionaire set the record straight in his latest statement. Taking to Twitter, Musk wrote that he will keep supporting Dogecoin – the cryptocurrency that was launched in 2013 based on a meme and went on to become the Tesla CEO’s favourite digital asset. Earlier this week, a report surfaced stating that a Dogecoin investor named Keith Johnson filed a complaint in the federal court of Manhattan and accused Musk of running a ‘pyramid scheme’ for Dogecoin.

According to the plaintiff, Musk manipulated the price of Dogecoin, made it skyrocket, and then let it tank for “profit, exposure, and amusement”. 

Apart from Musk, his electric car company Tesla and aerospace firm SpaceX have also been named by the complainant who is seeking $86 billion in damages. He also wants the price to get tripled considering the plummeting price of Dogecoin since last May. However, the world’s richest person has reiterated his stance, asserting that he will keep supporting Dogecoin. When a user responded to his tweet saying “keep buying it then”, Musk wrote, “I am”. As for Dogecoin’s current price, it is trading at $0.056657, after witnessing a 7.8% hike (subject to change) in the last 24 hours, according to Coindesk. 

Complainant demands ban on endorsement by Musk

Notably, Musk recently announced that Tesla and SpaceX will accept payment in Dogecoin for the company merchandise. As a result, the complainant appealed a ban on Musk and his companies from endorsing Dogecoin and demanded Dogecoin trading be declared “gambling” under federal and New York law. 

Musk has continued to support Dogecoin since the end of 2020. In early February 2021, he tweeted: “I will literally pay an actual dollar to people who void their Dogecoin accounts.” Later, the avid Twitter user posted, “Doge will live forever.” Musk’s tweets prompted US Securities Exchange Commission to launch an investigation into Musk in 2021. He has once also admitted that he accepted Dogecoin as payment for vehicles.