- Elon Musk has been hit with a $258 billion lawsuit by a man who lost money trading Dogecoin
- Musk, Tesla and SpaceX have been targeted in the suit
- Musk has an unhealthy attachment to the joke cryptocurrency, but some haven’t seen the funny side
Elon Musk has been hit with a $258 billion lawsuit by a man who lost money trading Dogecoin, and blames the Tesla founder for the loss. Keith Johnson, a US citizen, is asking for $86 billion in damages, plus tripled damages of $172 billion for losses incurred from trading Dogecoin since 2019. Johnson says he represents a class of people who have lost money investing in the cryptocurrency, which Musk trumpeted in 2020 and 2021, helping to propel it to $0.74 last year. Tesla, which already accepts dogecoin payments for merchandise, and Spacex, which is about to launch support for the coin, are also named as defendants.
Musk’s Dogecoin Affair Could End Bitterly
As reported in the New York Post, Johnson claims that Musk, Tesla, and Spacex are “engaged in a crypto pyramid scheme by way of dogecoin cryptocurrency.” Musk began tweeting his support for Bitcoin in early 2021, which was quickly followed by a string of tweets professing a love of Dogecoin, a love affair that blossomed as the year progressed.
Musk’s tweets initially amused the market, but many soon tired of his antics, especially after Musk admitted that his comments impacted valuations of the coins he commented on.
Johnson represents a group of cryptocurrency traders who fell under Musk’s spell and, having lost money, hold him accountable, although they seem to blame Dogecoin itself as much as Musk:
Dogecoin is not a currency, stock, or security. It’s not backed by gold, other precious metal, or anything at all. You can’t eat it, grow it, or wear it. It doesn’t pay interest or dividend. It has no unique utility compared to other cryptocurrencies…It’s not secured by a government or private entity. It’s simply a fraud whereby ‘greater fools’ are deceived into buying the coin at a higher price.
One wonders then why they invested in something that had such little purpose. Could it possibly be that they blithely followed the maniac whims of an unhinged celebrity instead of actually doing research for themselves?
Surely not…
