Featured Image Credit: Art Rachen via Unsplash, Daniel Oberhaus (2018) via Flickr
Topics: Cryptocurrency, World News
Topics: Cryptocurrency, World News
It’s safe to say, Elon Musk has made more headlines this year than most of us would care for. Ever since Musk teased his potential $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, we’ve been stuck in the long and never-ending Musk saga. Anybody else get big supervillain vibes from this guy?
Musk kicked up a storm when he suggested that some Twitter features might be put behind a paywall, but then the entire deal was put on hold pending an investigation into the percentage of spam Twitter accounts. It’s an ongoing affair but this week, Musk is hitting the headlines for an altogether different reason … a $258 billion lawsuit. Yikes.
Check out Elon Musk talking about his plans for Twitter down below.
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Elon Musk, Tesla, and SpaceX are being sued for a whopping $258 billion for allegedly running a pyramid scheme via the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. The seriously-large lawsuit was filed by investor Keith Johnson who has claimed that Musk, Tesla, and SpaceX were controlling the price of Dogecoin whilst simultaneously encouraging people that it was a sound and legitimate investment. The lawsuit was filed on 16 June in Manhattan, New York.
According to Reuters, Johnson argues that Musk and his companies inflated the price of Dogecoin before letting it fall, which would of course be illegal. The complaint read, “Defendants were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value yet promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading. Musk used his pedestal as World's Richest man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure and amusement.”
Johnson wants Musk, Tesla, and SpaceX prohibited from promoting Dogecoin, and for Dogecoin to be classified as gambling in the eyes of the law. Yes, there’s also that hefty $258 billion. Johnson is seeking $86 billion in actual damages, which is equivalent to Dogecoin’s loss in value since May 2021, plus treble damages.
According to Forbes, Musk’s estimated wealth currently sits at around $213 billion. Johnson’s lawsuit is in its infancy though and has some way to go before it’s even potentially taken to trial. Still, an unpleasant surprise for Musk I’m sure.