Elon Musk, Tesla & Space X sued for $258 billion over alleged 'Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme'

Amidst buzz over a potential Twitter takeover, Elon Musk along with his companies Tesla and Space X, on Thursday, was slapped with a lawsuit worth $258 billion for alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency scheme. complaint was filed by Keith Johnson in federal court of Manhattan, who accused Musk of running a "pyramid scheme" that reportedly drew up prices of cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. Musk (who is CEO of both Tesla Inc. and Space X) is accused of "manipulating" Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for "profit, exposure, and amusement," plaintiff said in his complaint. 

lawsuit comes at a time when value of Dogecoin has been on a free fall, reaching $0.57 per coin on Thursday after it tred at $0.64 per coin in May. However, Dogecoin was launched at a value of $.0002 in 2013. Keith in his complaint claimed that Musk promoted Dogecoin despite being aware that it "h no value."

Johnson is seeking $86 billion in loss and wants it tripled given decline in price of Dogecoin since May 2021. He also appealed for federal judge to ban Musk and his companies from endorsing Dogecoin. He furr demanded Dogecoin tring be declared "gambling" under federal and New York law.

Musk has continued to support Dogecoin since end of 2020. In early February 2021, he tweeted: "I will literally pay an actual dollar to people who void ir Dogecoin accounts." Later, avid Twitter user posted, "Doge will live forever." Musk's tweets prompted US Securities Exchange Commission to launch an investigation into Musk in 2021. He has once also mitted that he accepted Dogecoin as payment for vehicles.

Elon Musk faces flak over 'harmful behaviour' on Twitter

Musk has recently been a cynosure of conversation due to his Twitter bid. His latest gaffe, however, enraged employees of his own company who expressed strong discontent over his social behaviour. According to Verge, some of Space X employees penned a letter, which included allegations of sexual harassment against Musk.

To maintain anonymity, letter states that it was written by employees "across spectra of gender, ethnicity, seniority, and technical roles". employees have complained that ir CEO Elon Musk's public behaviour has been a "source of distraction and embarrassment" and furr stated that as face of SpaceX, his tweets are automatically assumed to be a statement by company. "It is critical to make clear to our teams and our potential talent pool that his messaging does not reflect our work, our mission, or our values", letter res.

This comes after Musk tweeted a picture of Bill Gates alongside a pregnant woman. He also engaged in a tiff with US Senator Bernie Sanders, who raised issue of non-tax payments by billionaires. Musk said he "keeps forgetting" that Sanders is still alive. multi-billionaire also mocked Amazon's Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos for mission failures of his space tourism company, Blue Origin.

(Image: AP/Unsplash)