Some analysts have said that Elon Musk's ties with the US military could jeopardize his EV business (Tesla) in China if he is not careful about sensitive aspects of bilateral relations, such as Taiwan. Photo: Reuters.
An investor in the Dogecoin cryptocurrency has sued Elon Musk for $258 billion, alleging that the Tesla chief executive ran a pyramid scheme to support the digital asset, which has lost more than 80% of its value over the past year.
Keith Johnson accused Musk, electric car company Tesla and space tourism company SpaceX of racketeering by touting Dogecoin and driving up its price, only to then let the price tumble.
“Defendants were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value yet promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading,” the complaint said.
Tesla, SpaceX and a lawyer for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Musk is chief executive of both Tesla and SpaceX.
“Musk used his pedestal as world’s richest man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin pyramid scheme for profit, exposure and amusement.”
The complaint also includes comments from Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and others questioning the value of cryptocurrency.
A lawyer for Johnson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on what specific evidence his client has or expects to have that proves Dogecoin is worthless and the defendants ran a pyramid scheme.
Johnson is seeking $86 billion in damages, representing the decline in Dogecoin’s market value since May 2021, and wants it tripled.
Musk has intermittently posted on social media in favour of Dogecoin, writing as recently as May 12: “It has potential as a currency.”
He also allowed Dogecoin as a form of payment at Tesla’s supercharging stations and in its online store.
Last November, Musk criticised Binance boss Changpeng Zhao on Twitter after the cryptocurrency exchange limited withdrawals of Dogecoin.
Dogecoin was launched in 2013 by two software engineers, Jackson Palmer in Sydney and Billy Markus in Portland. It started as a joke based on a popular meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog.
Beijing is desperate to rebuild confidence among overseas investors as its economy continues to struggle…
The US law enforcement chief said a Chinese hacking campaign known as Volt Typhoon has…
Officials from some of the world's biggest cities are in Washington to lobby for better…
China announces "anti-dumping penalties" on imports of a US chemical and orders Apple to cut…
Chinese companies invested in included the Aviation Industry Corp of China, a defence conglomerate that…
US tech giant said Beijing ordered it to cut the messaging apps because of national…