Prominent South African asset manager alleges Tesla price manipulation

36ONE Asset Management co-founder Cy Jacobs said he is convinced that Tesla is a manipulated stock with Musk using offshore trading instruments (see the video here).

Jacobs is one of South Africa’s most respected hedge fund managers who has consistently outperformed the market.

He has helped 36One Asset Management become one of South Africa’s largest and best-performing investment management firms.

Speaking at the 2024 Biznews Investment Conference, Jacobs said he is “almost certain that Tasla is a manipulated stock”.

He explained that even at Tesla’s size, with a market cap of $760 billion, the stock price can be manipulated through daily call options.

“There is a huge amount of money that sits offshore, controlled by Elon Musk, in islands with mandates that allow trading equities through trustees and structures,” he said.

Jacobs said that is why short sellers may not see the day Tesla’s share price collapses, because the price is not real.

He said Tesla is a great company and that Elon Musk is a visionary. However, the car marker is overvalued eight-fold.

Jacobs explained that Tesla is not a leader in robot taxis. “In full-service driving, Tesla is not even a level three,” he said.

“There are a host of companies whose full-service driving technology is more advanced than Tesla’s,” he said.

He said Elon Musk, who serves as the chief executive of multiple companies, represents what is currently wrong with the market.

“Fundamentals have gone. How can you have a CEO running five different businesses and being called out for fifty estimations which never came to fruition,” he asked.

Jacobs said one of their analysts said the only event that will cause the Tesla share price to collapse is Elon Musk’s death.

“I don’t wish Elon Musk any harm. He is a good man, a visionary, who has done a lot of good,” he said.