Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s lawyers petitioned on Monday for the dismissal of the prolonged lawsuit brought by disgruntled Dogecoin investors. Musk’s counsel argued in a New York federal court filing that the plaintiffs’ revised complaint should be thrown out. In a letter advocating dismissal, Musk’s attorney Alex Shapiro condemned the lawsuit’s latest complaint as illustrative of the plaintiffs’ antagonistic and aggressive legal tactics. Lead attorney Evan Spencer amended the class action complaint against Musk for the third time in June, adding further allegations.
The initial June 2021 lawsuit seeking $258 billion in damages accuses Musk of perpetrating “a premeditated scheme of market manipulation and insider trading” regarding the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin. Musk’s avid promotion of Dogecoin has been evident since his 2019 tweet declaring it potentially his favorite cryptocurrency. His enthusiasm continued after acquiring Twitter last year. Musk’s most recent Dogecoin-related event occurred around April Fools’ Day when Twitter briefly changed its logo to the Shiba Inu dog icon of Dogecoin, spurring a 30% Dogecoin price surge. The amended complaint notes this happened soon after Musk’s counsel moved to dismiss the lawsuit in March.
In 2021, Dogecoin surged to dizzying heights prior to Musk’s Saturday Night Live appearance, only to plummet when he called it a “hustle” on the show. Nevertheless, Musk’s lawyers contend his longstanding Dogecoin “cheerleading” constitutes harmless hype. They argue no illegality lies in tweeting supportive words or humorous images about a cryptocurrency. The recent motion derides the amended complaint as fanciful, meandering, and often incomprehensible.
Musk’s counsel states the lawsuit’s claims falter since allegations concern Dogecoin sold by digital wallets not factually connected to Musk or Tesla. Moreover, they assert the lawsuit fails to demonstrate Musk’s Dogecoin comments were materially false or misleading.
In June, presiding U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein set a Monday deadline for Musk’s response to the amended complaint. The attorneys representing Dogecoin investors have until early September to file their opposition to the dismissal motion.
As June progressed, the legal dispute became increasingly bitter. Plaintiff attorney Spencer accused Musk’s lawyers of “dirty tactics” after Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro’s letter appeared in the New York Post. Spencer requested the removal of several of Musk’s attorneys, alleging an effort to unfairly prejudice the case. Spencer asserted Musk was utilizing vast funds to finance an illegal harassment campaign against him and his clients.
Musk’s counsel retorted that the demand to remove attorneys was insulting, and claims of Spiro leaking the derogatory letter were baseless. They contended Spencer himself was acting improperly, with allegations so inappropriate that Spencer’s motion itself warranted sanctions.
