Elon Musk wants to bring Dogecoin back to Tesla online store

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin require significant amounts of electricity to process transactions and ensure their respective networks remain secure.

Environmentalists and investors pointed out how the carbon footprint associated with cryptocurrency transactions was seemingly at odds with Tesla’s clean energy initiatives.

It’s also worth noting that Musk is a staunch supporter of former President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump, who pledges to roll back clean energy initiatives if re-elected.

Legal drama

Musk’s affirmation for Dogecoin came less than 24 hours after U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein dismissed a federal lawsuit that accused the Tesla chief of defrauding investors through insider trading and market manipulation of Dogecoin.

The suit alleged that Musk misused his position as the world’s richest man to inflate the price of Dogecoin over “36,000%”  and then let its price crash, leading to losses for investors.

The plaintiffs argued that Musk’s actions could be justified as a “Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme,” where he promoted the cryptocurrency to profit from the volatility he allegedly created.

The price of DOGE once reached an all-time high of $0.73 but has yet to reach those price levels again.

Hellerstein said any statements made about Dogecoin are “aspirational and puffery, not factual” and that “no reasonable investor could rely upon them” for making investment decisions.

The judge also found that the facts did not support the plaintiffs’ allegations of a “pump and dump” scheme, market manipulation, and insider trading, underlining that it was “not possible to understand the allegations that form the basis” of these claims.

Whether the Dogecoin lawsuit dismissal bodes well for Tesla fans to once again use the dog-themed coin as a payment option when buying, say, a Cybertruck t-shirt, remains to be seen.