A New York federal judge has permanently dismissed a high-stakes lawsuit filed by a group of Dogecoin investors accusing Elon Musk and Tesla of manipulating the market to profit from the meme-based cryptocurrency. U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ruled on Thursday that the investors' claims were unfounded, labeling Musk's statements about Dogecoin as mere "puffery" and "aspirational," rather than factual assertions that could mislead reasonable investors.

The investors had accused Musk of orchestrating a "pump and dump" scheme through his enthusiastic promotion of Dogecoin on Twitter, where he referred to it as the "future currency of Earth" and hinted that Tesla vehicles might soon be purchasable with the digital asset. The plaintiffs argued that these statements, combined with Musk's influence, amounted to market manipulation that inflated Dogecoin's value, only for it to subsequently plummet.

However, Judge Hellerstein dismissed these allegations, stating that no reasonable investor would have relied on Musk's tweets as factual guarantees. He also found the claims of insider trading and market manipulation to be inadequately supported by evidence.

The lawsuit, initially filed in June 2022, sought a staggering $258 billion in damages, alleging that Musk, Tesla, and initially SpaceX, had engaged in an illegal scheme to defraud Dogecoin investors. The plaintiffs pointed to the significant volatility of Dogecoin’s value and the alleged harm caused to investors as a result of Musk’s public endorsements.

Despite multiple amendments to the complaint, the court found that the plaintiffs failed to substantiate their claims, leading to the final dismissal of the case. Judge Hellerstein's ruling effectively ends the litigation, marking a significant victory for Musk and Tesla.

The case, officially titled Colby Gorog et al. v. Elon Musk et al., had been closely watched due to its potential implications for how influential public figures interact with volatile financial markets on social media.