Major Win for Elon Musk in $258 Billion Dogecoin Market Manipulation Lawsuit

The massive lawsuit against the future head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will end soon, at least according to the latest statements from lawyers on both sides.

Those representing investors seeking a $258 billion payout withdrew their appeal of an earlier ruling by Judge Hellerstein, who sided with the Tesla CEO in August 2024.

Recall that the lawsuit was initiated in July 2022 after the conclusion of the 2021 bull market. It alleged that Musk illegally interfered with the price of DOGE, especially during an appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live where praised the asset, but also through his many tweets on the subject.

Most of these interactions resulted in immediate increases in the price of the OG meme coin, including hitting an all-time high of over $0.73 before the SNL show.

Plaintiff Keith Johnson filed the federal lawsuit in Lower Manhattan, seeking $86 billion in damages from the Tesla chief executive and also $172 billion for losses incurred in DOGE operations since 2019.

Musk won a dismissal of the market manipulation case in late August this year, which the plaintiff’s lawyers appealed. However, they have withdrawn that appeal, according to a Thursday document reported today by Reuters.

In response, Musk and Tesla withdrew their motion to sanction the investors’ lawyers for pursuing a “frivolous” case to “extort a quick delivery.”

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein will have to approve both requests now before the case officially concludes.

The price of Dogecoin skyrocketed after Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential election, perhaps due to the aforementioned relationship between the meme currency and future leader DOGE. It more than doubled its valuation in a month and soared to $0.44. However, it has lost steam since then and is down to $0.36 at the time of writing.

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