China News Service, June 17th. According to a comprehensive report, on the 16th local time, a dogecoin investor accused Musk and his companies Tesla and SpaceX of extortion, demanding $258 billion in compensation.
Data map: The logo of Dogecoin.
The plaintiffs allege that the defendants have known since 2019 that Dogecoin has no value, but is still promoting it to profit from trading.
"Musk used his status as the world's richest man to operate and manipulate a Dogecoin pyramid scheme for profit, exposure, and fun," the indictment said.
The plaintiffs estimate that investors have lost about $86 billion since Musk began promoting Dogecoin, according to AFP.
Plaintiffs want Musk to repay the money and pay double damages.
According to reports, Dogecoin is a virtual currency identified by a Shiba Inu head, which appeared in 2013.
Musk, who has more than 98 million followers on Twitter, has tweeted about it, such as promising that SpaceX will "place a real Dogecoin on the real moon."
Lawyers for Tesla, SpaceX and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters.