By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Elon Musk requested a U.S. choose on Friday to throw out a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit accusing him of working a pyramid scheme to assist the cryptocurrency .

In a night submitting in Manhattan federal courtroom, attorneys for Musk and his electrical automobile firm Tesla (NASDAQ:) Inc known as the lawsuit by Dogecoin traders a “fanciful work of fiction” over Musk’s “innocuous and infrequently foolish tweets” about Dogecoin.

The attorneys stated the traders by no means defined how Musk meant to defraud anybody or what dangers he hid, and that his statements akin to “Dogecoin Rulz” and “no highs, no lows, solely Doge” have been too imprecise to assist a fraud declare.

“There’s nothing illegal about tweeting phrases of assist for, or humorous footage about, a reliable cryptocurrency that continues to carry a market cap of practically $10 billion,” Musk’s attorneys stated. “This courtroom ought to put a cease to plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the criticism.”

In a footnote, the attorneys additionally rejected the traders’ declare that Dogecoin certified as a safety.

The traders’ lawyer, Evan Spencer, stated in an e-mail: “We’re extra assured than ever that our case shall be profitable.”

Buyers accused Musk, the world’s second-richest individual in response to Forbes, of intentionally driving up Dogecoin’s worth greater than 36,000% over two years after which letting it crash.

They stated this generated billions of {dollars} of revenue at different Dogecoin traders’ expense, at the same time as Musk knew the forex lacked intrinsic worth.

Buyers additionally pointed to Musk’s look on a “Weekend Replace” phase of NBC’s “Saturday Evening Stay” the place, portraying a fictitious monetary skilled, he known as Dogecoin “a hustle.”

The $258 billion damages determine is triple the estimated decline in Dogecoin’s market worth within the 13 months earlier than the lawsuit was filed.

Dogecoin Basis, a nonprofit, can also be a defendant and in search of the lawsuit’s dismissal.

Musk’s posts on Twitter, which he owns, have prompted a number of lawsuits.

He gained a courtroom victory on Feb. 3 when a San Francisco jury discovered him not responsible for tweeting in August 2018 that he had organized financing to take Tesla non-public.

The case is Johnson et al v. Musk et al, U.S. District Courtroom, Southern District of New York, No. 22-05037.