Investors withdraw appeal in Dogecoin case against Elon Musk

Lawsuit Against Elon Musk and Tesla Over Dogecoin Price Manipulation Concludes

A class-action lawsuit alleging that Elon Musk and Tesla Inc. manipulated the price of Dogecoin has come to an end. Investors who filed the suit have withdrawn their appeal, according to Reuters.

The lawsuit accused Musk and Tesla of influencing Dogecoin's (DOGE) price through tweets and public statements. One key allegation was Musk's appearance on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in 2021, where the plaintiffs claimed his remarks impacted DOGE's price and allowed him to profit from its surge.

Musk's tweets referring to himself as "Dogecoin's CEO" and adding the DOGE symbol to his biography were among the statements the complainants deemed manipulative. The lawsuit also cited comments about the meme coin's potential to become a global financial standard.

Allegedly, DOGE's price often spiked following these comments, including one about Tesla's acceptance of the cryptocurrency as a payment option.

The lawsuit sought $258 billion in damages from Musk. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein dismissed the case in August, but the investors appealed the decision.

However, the withdrawal of the appeal effectively ends the insider trading and fraud allegations. This development comes shortly after Musk's lawyers withdrew his motion against the investors' legal representatives over demands for substantial legal fees.

Judge Hellerstein must now approve the withdrawal motions.

Notably, the investors' decision to withdraw the case occurred two days after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump nominated Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE's price saw a significant increase following the announcement.