By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Elon Musk requested a U.S. decide on Friday to throw out a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit accusing him of operating 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 referred to as the lawsuit by Dogecoin traders a “fanciful work of fiction” over Musk’s “innocuous and sometimes 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 corresponding to “Dogecoin Rulz” and “no highs, no lows, solely Doge” have been too obscure to assist a fraud declare.

“There may be nothing illegal about tweeting phrases of assist for, or humorous photos about, a reputable 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 grievance.”

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 will likely be profitable.”

Traders accused Musk, the world’s second-richest individual based on 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.

Traders additionally pointed to Musk’s look on a “Weekend Replace” phase of NBC’s “Saturday Evening Stay” the place, portraying a fictitious monetary professional, he referred to 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 be a defendant and searching for 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 accountable for tweeting in August 2018 that he had organized financing to take Tesla personal.

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