Tesla CEO Elon Musk indicated the potential return of Dogecoin as a payment option for Tesla products. This statement came just two days after he and Tesla successfully dismissed a June 2022 lawsuit accusing them of defrauding investors through a Dogecoin pump-and-dump scheme. On August 31, Musk responded affirmatively when asked if anyone else wanted Tesla to bring back Dogecoin as a payment option for products.
What Is Happening on the Dogecoin Front?
Tesla previously accepted Dogecoin for products in January 2022, but it is unclear if the company will reimplement this feature. At that time, the company stated that only Dogecoin would be accepted and warned that other crypto assets sent to them would not be returned. However, the Dogecoin payment option later disappeared without any explanation.
Given Musk’s known support for Dogecoin, a return would not be surprising. Earlier this year, Tesla hinted at the possibility of accepting Dogecoin as a payment method. Musk has consistently expressed his fondness for DOGE and frequently influenced its price movements with his actions.
Musk’s defense of Dogecoin has also led to legal challenges. On August 29, Judge Alvin Hellerstein dismissed a $258 billion class-action lawsuit against the billionaire and his company. The lawsuit accused Musk and Tesla of manipulating Dogecoin’s price and claimed that Musk used his influence, including his appearance on Saturday Night Live, to affect the token’s value.
Details on the Matter
Judge Hellerstein ruled that Musk’s statements about Dogecoin were enthusiastic and exaggerated rather than factual claims that could mislead investors. He concluded that no reasonable investor would rely on these statements and that the pump-and-dump allegations were unfounded:
“As for the alleged pump-and-dump scheme by Musk and Tesla, it is impossible to understand the plaintiffs’ claims of market manipulation, pump-and-dump scheme, breach of fiduciary duty involving insider trading, or state law claims.”
Despite these developments, DOGE’s price dropped by more than 2% in the last 24 hours to $0.099113 at the time of writing, according to Tradingview data. This decline reflects a broader market trend, with significant crypto assets like Bitcoin experiencing substantial losses during the reporting period.
