The long-running legal battle between Elon Musk and a group of Dogecoin investors accusing him of manipulating the price of Dogecoin in 2023 has officially ended as they withdrew their appeal.
The lawsuit was previously dismissed, but investors have challenged the decision. They initially sought $258 billion in damages, accusing Musk and his Tesla company of fraud and insider trading.
Investors accuse Musk of using tweets, appearances on "Saturday Night Live" and other public actions to manipulate the price of Dogecoin for his own gain.
Judge Hellerstein dismissed the lawsuit in August, saying Musk's tweets were not enough to prove fraud. The judge also pointed out that statements like Musk calling Dogecoin "Earth's future currency" and claiming it could be taken to the moon by his company SpaceX were not serious enough to be considered fraud.
The judge also said the investors' allegations of market manipulation and insider trading were not clear enough to prove any illegal conduct.
After the lawsuit was dismissed, the investors attempted to appeal the decision. They also asked the court to sanction Musk's legal team for allegedly interfering with the appeals process and demanding high attorney fees.
Musk and Tesla have each filed a motion seeking sanctions against investors' lawyers for filing a "frivolous" lawsuit with shifting legal arguments.
However, on November 14, the investors decided to withdraw their appeal and also dropped their request for sanctions against Musk’s attorney. Both sides have filed motions to end the lawsuit, but it still needs approval from Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan.
