Elon Musk, the fabulously wealthy innovator, faces a class-action lawsuit from investors who accuse him of insider trading and manipulating Dogecoin (DOGE). Musk’s actions allegedly led to a significant rise in Dogecoin’s price. Its subsequent crash left the investors in a bad place, they claim.
Long known for his flamboyant persona, Musk has played fast and loose with cryptocurrency and even conducted insider trading. That’s according to a class action lawsuit filed by a group of DOGE investors on Wednesday.
Musk Manipulated Market, Say Investors
They allege that Musk, whom Forbes ranks as the second wealthiest billionaire on the planet, did a variety of questionable things. According to a CNN story on Monday, a recent filing in Manhattan federal court claimed Musk used paid online influencers, tweets, his 2021 cameo on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” and other publicity stunts. His goal? To trade and enrich himself while leaving the investors on the hook.
They allege that Musk controlled several Dogecoin wallets, either personally or through Tesla, in these activities.
Musk has referred to himself as the “Dogefather” in his Saturday Night Live appearance and has regularly leaned into his association with the coin. Investors believe this amounted to illegal behavior. The eccentric billionaire allegedly engaged in a “deliberate course of carnival barking, market manipulation, and insider trading,” the filing said.
Musk allegedly made $124 million from the market pump when he replaced Twitter’s logo with the DOGE symbol. Seemingly irrelevant events like this can have swift and dramatic consequences on the price, opening up opportunities for quick returns.
For his part, Musk denies all the charges.
DOGE Still His Favorite
DOGE is the most popular meme token on the market, with a market cap over twice its nearest competitor Shibu Inu (SHIB). It became popular due to its association with the doge meme, a picture of a cool Shibu Inu dog. (SHIB is also based on the same meme.)
The past year has seen it spike and dip several times. Although it is down roughly 90% from its all-time high in May 2021.
For all the ups and downs, Musk continues to pump DOGE in his idiosyncratic manner. As recently as May, Musk has said DOGE is still his favorite cryptocurrency.
The entrepreneur said, “I’m not advising anyone to buy crypto or bet the farm on Dogecoin or anything like that. But Dogecoin is my favorite cryptocurrency because it has the best humor and has dogs.”
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