Dogecoin crashes as Elon Musk calls it a 'hustle' on SNL

News
By Marc McLaren
published

Dogecoin drops by more than 30% as the Telsa boss pokes fun at it on Saturday Night Live

Dogecoin crashes as Elon Musk calls it a 'hustle' on SNL
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Dogecoin has plunged by more than 30% in value after Elon Musk poked fun at the cryptocurrency and called it a "hustle" in his Saturday Night Live hosting spot.

Musk's appearance on the show last night (May 8) was expected to send the memecoin to new heights, but instead it dropped from around 70 cents before the show to just 47 cents as of the time of writing.

Musk, who has previously labelled himself the "Dogefather" and repeatedly talked up the memecoin, mentioned Dogecoin several times during his SNL slot. In his opening monologue, Musk was joined onstage by his mother, Maye, who joked that she was looking forward to her Mother's Day gift — then added that she "hopes it's not Dogecoin." Musk replied that it was.

Later, the billionaire Tesla CEO played Dogecoin expert Lloyd Ostertag on Weekend Update, with cast member Michael Che repeatedly asking him what Dogecoin actually is. 

"It actually started as an internet meme, but now it's taken over in a very real way," Musk countered, before describing it as "the future of currency. It's an unstoppable financial vehicle that's going to take over the world."

Asked one final time what Dogecoin actually is, Musk said that it was "A cryptocurrency you can trade for conventional money," to which Che replied, "Oh, so it's a hustle?"

"Yeah, it's a hustle," said Musk, before shouting "To the moon!"

Dogecoin started the year with a value of $0.005 but has risen sharply in recent months to reach a high of $0.71; that represents incredible growth of more than 12,000% in 2021 and has made it one of the top cryptocurrency performers, with a total market capitalization of around $80 billion just a few days ago. It currently stands at $63 billion.

Investors had been eagerly awaiting Musk's spot on SNL, with some predicting that Dogecoin's value would further soar on the back of it.

However, Musk had urged investors to be cautious about putting money into cryptocurrency the day before his SNL appearance — and given Dogecoin's price drop in the past few hours, that may have been wise advice.

Marc McLaren
Marc McLaren

Formerly Editor in Chief (U.K.) on Tom’s Guide, Marc oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and cameras coverage, and was also responsible for the site’s U.K.-focused output. He is now U.K. Editor in Chief on TechRadar. Marc previously edited the tech website Stuff and has tested and written about phones, tablets, wearables, streaming boxes, smart home devices, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, games, TVs, cameras and much more. He also spent years on a music magazine, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun, and on a car magazine. An avid photographer, he likes nothing better than taking pictures of very small things (bugs, his daughters) or very big things (distant galaxies). When he gets time, he also enjoys gaming (console and mobile), cycling and attempting to watch as much sport as any human can. He's also fallen in love with Wordle over the past six months and is the author of our today's Wordle answer column, in which he supplies hints and strategy tips for the mega-popular word game. Given he's completed every single Wordle so far and only lost once, and analyzed every Wordle answer in search of patterns, he's well qualified to help you safeguard your streak.