Key Highlights:
- Dogecoin started out as a joke but gained popularity because of Reddit and Elon Musk’s tweets.
- Every time Musk posted about Dogecoin, the price of the token would soar.
- Musk also faced legal challenges, when a lawsuit was filed against Musk in 2022.
Elon Musk turned things around for Dogecoin, a memecoin that started out as a joke into something everyone started paying attention to. In the beginning the tech mogul would just randomly tweet about it or make jokes about, which got people talking about the coin. Later on, his posts and comments that were related to Dogecoin, would cause the prices of the memecoin to go up. He even called himself the “Dogefather,” showing he had a special connection to the coin.
The memecoin started getting significant attention and people started buying and investing in this coin. However, Musk’s actions also led to lawsuits from investors. Let’s have a look at how these things transpired.
Humble Beginnings of Dogecoin
The memecoin was launched in 2013 as a parody of Bitcoin, and it was created by developers Billy Murkus and Jackson Palmer. These developers used the viral “Doge” Shiba Inu meme and created the logo of the coin. The coin was not even very well known. The price of the token stayed low, less than a cent. It only got attention when Reddit communities started using it for fun and charity.
Elon Musk got involved somewhere in 2019. On April 2, 2019, he tweeted his support after a user mentioned it, at that time, one Dogecoin was only worth about $0.0025. That was the moment he began stirring up the “memecoin” craze as more and more people got interested in crypto.
Musk’s Iconic Tweets and Epic Rallies
Elon Musk’s Tweets acted like rocket fuel for Dogecoin. The moment he would mention Dogecoin in his tweet, it would send the price of the token soaring in a very short time. Back in 2021, he tweeted just the word “Doge” with a rocket emoji, and then followed up tweets like “Dogecoin is the people’s crypto” and “No highs, no lows, only Doge.” These posts also caused the price of the token to jump about 50 in less than a day. Elon even posted a “Dogue” magazine meme which caused an 800% surge at one point according to CNBC.
He just did not stop there. Musk then started sharing funny memes, like a Lion King edit with himself and Doge, which again made the price of the token soar. Tweets like “Dogecoin to the moon” tied to his SpaceX projects, and a few other things that led to record highs around $0.084 at that time.
By May 2021, during a Boring Company event, Musk made a dramatic entrance to Dogecoin’s theme music, and called himself the Dogefather. This stunt sent Dogecoin price even higher and became a part of the bigger 2021 meme frenzy.
Rise of Legal Challenges
After all the hype, Dogecoin’s price eventually crashed and not everybody was happy. In June 2022, a group of investors filed a class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk and Tesla, claiming that Dogecoin was basically a $258 billion “pyramid scheme.” They argued that Musk used his tweets, his Saturday Night Live Appearance (where he called Dogecoin a “hustle” and that’s what caused the price of the token to crash), and other stunts like putting Doge on Twitter’s logo to manipulate the price for fun and profit.
The lawsuit said that Musk’s actions encouraged people to buy Dogecoin, only for them to lose money when the price fell after his hype. Musk’s team responded by saying his tweets were just “puffery,” and that no reasonable investor would make financial decisions based solely on his jokes.
Lawsuit Outcomes and Current Status
In August 2024, a US court in New York ruled in Elon Musk’s favor and dismissed the class-action lawsuit over Dogecoin. The judge said Musk’s statements were more like aspirational comments or jokes and they were not claims that were meant to trick investors. When the investors tried to appeal, they dropped the case in November 2024 and this officially ended the legal battle.
By early 2026, there were no major lawsuits against Musk and Dogecoin. Even now, Musk still has influence over the token. For example, small mentions like the recent D.O.G.E (Department of Government Efficiency) generated minor attention but there has been no new legal problem because of it.
Final Thought
Elon Musk’s journey shows how powerful social media can be in the crypto world. Through Musk, a token that originated as a joke turned into a cryptocurrency worth billions. This is also a prime example of how far free speech can go in financial markets. Tesla still holds some Dogecoin, and Musk keeps a personal stash, so the story still continues to capture attention and influence the market.
Also Read: How to Start Dogecoin Mining in 2026 with Best Pool
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