Racing to catch your portfolio before it crashes? Elon Musk’s latest courtroom testimony just threw his crypto cheerleading under the Tesla. During his ongoing OpenAI lawsuit in Oakland federal court, the billionaire declared that “some [crypto coins] have merit, but most of them are scams”—a stunning reversal from the man who once sent Dogecoin soaring with a single tweet.
The $1.3 Billion Contradiction
Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings expose the gap between Musk’s words and wallet.
His testimony carries extra weight when you consider Tesla still holds 11,509 Bitcoin—originally purchased for $386 million in 2021, marked down to $786 million in Q1 2026 filings, but now worth over $1.3 billion with Bitcoin above $125,000. The same executive, calling crypto mostly fraudulent, helped legitimize the entire space when Tesla became an early corporate Bitcoin adopter. Your investment decisions likely felt that influence.
Meanwhile, Dogecoin—which Musk championed during 2021’s meme coin frenzy—continues trading while its former advocate distances himself from the broader crypto ecosystem.
When AI Lawsuits Meet Crypto History
These crypto comments emerged from questions about OpenAI’s abandoned fundraising plans.
The contradiction surfaced during testimony about OpenAI’s scrapped 2018 plans for an Initial Coin Offering. Musk co-founded the AI lab in 2015 as a nonprofit, donating $38 million before suing this year over its partnership with Microsoft and shift toward for-profit operations.
He claims OpenAI “stole a charity” to enable unsafe AI development for private gain. When lawyers pressed him about the abandoned ICO—which would have created tokens similar to a crypto IPO—Musk’s current skepticism became clear.
His own companies benefited enormously from crypto adoption, he now questions.
What This Means for Your Tech Bets
Celebrity tech endorsements prove as volatile as the assets they promote.
Your crypto portfolio shouldn’t rise and fall on billionaire mood swings, but Musk’s influence remains undeniable. His Bitcoin tweets once moved markets instantly. Now his courtroom comments signal how quickly tech leaders abandon positions when convenient.
The bigger lesson transcends crypto: following any tech prophet’s investment advice—whether it’s AI stocks, EVs, or digital assets—means accepting their contradictions as your financial reality. Musk’s testimony reminds us that today’s revolutionary technology can become tomorrow’s courtroom footnote.
Smart investors diversify beyond any single voice, even one with rockets and robots.
