Elon Musk is known as a strong supporter of Dogecoin and that can now cost him very dearly. The billionaire has been sued along with his companies SpaceX and Tesla for $258 billion in damages for his “participation” in a crypto pyramid scheme with Dogecoin.
Over 34 times the value of all Dogecoin
The claim is an unimaginable factor 34 larger than the current market cap (total value) of all Dogecoin. All of these tokens are currently worth $7.5 billion. Also, the claim is nearly three times higher than the token’s all-time high market cap of $88.68 billion from mid-2021. claims that Elon Musk abused his position as the richest man in the world to manipulate the Dogecoin price and take advantage of it.
Prosecutor Keith Johnson alleges that Elon Musk and his companies unlawfully enriched themselves with $86 billion as a result of fraud, false advertising and deceptive practices. Johnson claims that he and the other participants in the lawsuit lost about $86 billion between May 2021 and June 2022. Johnson wants that amount plus $172 billion in other damages and costs.
Tesla and Dogecoin
In January, Elon Musk announced that his car company Tesla would begin accepting Dogecoin for merchandise. In May, SpaceX was also added to that list. The prosecution also wants to qualify the Dogecoin trade as gambling in upstate New York, accusing Musk of his companies breaking state gambling laws.
The plaintiffs also want to ensure that Musk, his companies and other unlicensed professionals are still allowed to operate advertising, marketing or other forms of promotion for Dogecoin. The chances of success in a lawsuit like this one are slim, but it would be a good thing for the industry if these kinds of jokes weren’t given so much attention. There is no denying that Musk has talked many people into Dogecoin with his jokes.