Dogecoin vs. Musk: Legal Case Ends as DOGE Investors Drop Federal Appeal

A long-running legal battle over Dogecoin and Elon Musk finally ended after investors chose to drop their appeal in a Thursday filing on November 14, 2024. The case had been brewing since 2022, with claims that Musk and his company, Tesla, had manipulated Dogecoin’s price for personal gain.

The lawsuit focused on Musk’s public remarks and actions, including his controversial appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he called Dogecoin a “hustle.” Investors argued that these statements, along with Musk’s tweets, had inflated Dogecoin’s value, leading to big losses when the price later dropped. He also faced accusations of insider trading and manipulating the market.

Dogecoin Lawsuit Ends After Appeal Dropped

The lawsuit originally aimed for a massive $258 billion in damages. However, in August 2024, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein threw out the case, deciding that Musk’s tweets, like calling Dogecoin the “future currency of Earth,” didn’t count as securities fraud. The judge also rejected the claims of insider trading, saying there wasn’t enough proof to back those accusations.

After that, the investors, hoping to change the outcome, appealed the decision and asked for sanctions against Musk’s legal team, accusing them of meddling with the appeal process. But this week, the investors dropped both the appeal and the request for sanctions, effectively ending the case. This agreement was filed in a federal court in Manhattan and is now waiting for Judge Hellerstein’s final approval.

During the legal process, the Dogecoin Foundation, which represents the community behind Dogecoin, worked hard to separate its core developers and founders from the case. The foundation felt relief when the lawsuit came to an end, especially since many people who were originally included had been cleared early.

“We’re glad this is finally over. We took on defending uninvolved core developers, founders, & community members initially named in this suit & were glad to have them removed early on, but we could’ve imagined much nicer uses for high five figures in legal fees spent on this,” said Dogecoin Foundation.

Dogebox Empowers Dogecoin Nodes and Payments

Now that the case is officially wrapped up, the Dogecoin Foundation is working on Dogebox, a new project aimed at helping users run their own full Dogecoin node, accept Dogecoin payments, and build apps on the Dogecoin blockchain. Elon Musk, who has long supported Dogecoin, continues to play a key role in raising its profile. 

However, Musk’s legal challenges aren’t behind him. Just this week, President-elect Donald Trump appointed Musk to head the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. At the same time, Musk is in a legal dispute with OpenAI and Microsoft, as his AI company, xAI, accuses the tech giants of unfair business practices.

Despite the ongoing drama, Dogecoin is still attracting attention. Recently, a prominent crypto analyst, Ali Martinez, highlighted that large whales have purchased more than $56 million worth of Dogecoin in just 24 hours. As of November 16, 2024, Dogecoin is priced at $0.3645, marking an 8% decline in the last 24 hours, according to CNF’s Dogecoin Price Index.