Musk calls most crypto scams as X launches web Cashtags

Elon Musk testified in an Oakland civil trial that most cryptocurrencies are scams while discussing a 2018 proposal at OpenAI to raise funds through an initial coin offering. Asked about the plan, Musk responded, “Some of them have merit, but most of them are scams.” The remark came during testimony in a lawsuit over OpenAI’s early governance and commercial partnerships.

Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015, is suing the organization for alleged breaches of a founding agreement tied to partnerships and product commercialization. The trial has focused in part on a shelved 2018 plan to spin out a for‑profit subsidiary and sell a token. OpenAI contends Musk supported the ICO idea; Musk’s legal team says he opposed it and warned it would harm the group’s credibility. The proceedings in Oakland are expected to run about three weeks.

Musk’s courtroom remarks contrast with his earlier public support for digital assets. Tesla bought $1.5 billion of Bitcoin in 2021, and Musk publicly promoted Dogecoin while acknowledging holdings of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin. Tesla sold roughly 75% of its Bitcoin in 2022 and reported holding 11,509 BTC, valued at $879 million, in the first quarter of 2026 after a $222 million markdown.

Separately, X launched a web version of Cashtags that converts $tickers for stocks and cryptocurrencies into clickable, real‑time charts and asset‑specific post feeds. Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, wrote that the feature will let “X be a core part of your trading terminal with real-time charts and posts for every asset.”

The Cashtags rollout includes measures aimed at limiting fraud. The product can match contract addresses and lock accounts posting crypto content for the first time, controls intended to reduce the spread of fraudulent tokens. Company executives describe the feature as part of a broader effort that also includes payments and pilot trading tools.

Documents about the abandoned ICO proposal have been entered into the trial record. Lawyers for both sides have disputed who favored the 2018 fundraising approach. The court will continue to consider testimony and documents about OpenAI’s early fundraising ideas, governance decisions and subsequent business arrangements as additional witnesses are expected to testify.