Dogecoin, a meme coin, has always been a favourite of billionaire Elon Musk, and his regular posts about it drove the cryptocurrency to new heights in the first half of 2021. But the excitement surrounding the coin eventually subsided, and the price fell along with it. As can be expected, some investors made decisions against their better judgement and lost money as a result.
One of these investors, Keith Johnson, who had lost money due to the drop in the price of DOGE, had decided to confront the “Dogefather” and had launched a hefty $258 billion lawsuit against the billionaire, accusing him of running a pyramid scheme. The action has now grown in scope as additional plaintiffs have chosen to participate.
The $258 billion lawsuit against Elon Musk now has more claimants, according to a fresh amended complaint that was submitted in a federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday. In all, seven new plaintiffs and six new defendants were identified in the action.
The lawsuit made clear that the millionaire was accused of running a pyramid scheme that backed Dogecoin and cost investors money. The defendant claimed that by speculating about cryptocurrencies, Elon Musk and the six other defendants who have been named were able to amass billion-dollar fortunes. Additionally, Musk was charged with promoting Dogecoin despite being aware that the virtual currency lacked any fundamental value.
Despite the significant lawsuit that has been filed against him, Elon Musk has not softened his stance in favour of Dogecoin. The billionaire had made a public statement about continuing to promote crypto roughly a month after the lawsuit was filed.
The fact that both Musk and his automaker Tesla still hold the cryptocurrency speaks something about his support for the meme coin. Musk had promised the public that Tesla will maintain its stake in Dogecoin after the business sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings.