Investor Einhorn says Palihapitiya, Musk poured 'jet fuel' on GameStop

Reuters2021-04-16

BOSTON (Reuters) - Investor David Einhorn said on Thursday that prominent venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya and entrepreneur Elon Musk threw "jet fuel" on the GameStop Corp(GME.N)trading frenzy in January when the video retailer's shares rose by 2,000% and later prompted a hearing in U.S. Congress.

Einhorn, who runs hedge fund Greenlight Capital, also said U.S. lawmakers seeking answers to how day traders were able to wrest control of GameStop's share price from established hedge funds should probe regulators instead of investors.

Amateur investors organized on social media sites such as Reddit staged a stubborn buying spree three months ago, winning out over Wall Street hedge funds that had shorted GameStop's shares or bet that the price would fall.

The wild price swings caused heavy losses for hedge fund Melvin Capital, among others. U.S. lawmakers reacted by organizing a U.S. House of Representatives hearing in February where they quizzed hedge funds, a day trader and the chief of the online trading app Robinhood.

Einhorn on Thursday blamed Palihapitiya and Tesla Inc's(TSLA.O)CEO, Musk, for throwing what he called "jet fuel on the GME squeeze." His comments appeared in a quarterly letter to Greenlight Capital investors which was seen by Reuters.

Representatives for Palihapitiya and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Einhorn said it is appropriate for investors to discuss stocks.

"Investors discussing why they think GameStop (or any other stock) should go up or down ought to be encouraged," he wrote. "There is no reason to drag anyone before Congress for making a stock pick."

Einhorn said Palihapitiya, who appeared on TV in late January and dismissed criticism of day traders, might have been trying to harm Robinhood because it competes with fintech startup SoFi, which was backed by Palihapitiya.

And Musk, whose Tesla shares Einhorn has long bet against, waded in to the drama by tweeting "Gamestonk!!" and adding a link to the Reddit forum where day traders were discussing GameStop.

"If regulators wanted Elon Musk to stop manipulating stocks, they should have done so with more than a light slap on the wrist when they accused him of manipulating Tesla's shares in 2018," Einhorn wrote.

Einhorn said if lawmakers wanted to understand "why GameStop did what it did ... it would be better to call to account the absentee regulators and their philosophical backers."

He told investors that his Greenlight Capital Funds were essentially flat in the first quarter, inching down 0.1%, while the S&P500 index gained 6.2%

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Comments

  • X3Dunkey
    2021-04-18
    X3Dunkey
    This is hilarious at best really. At this point we have dug up so much dirt on these dirty schemes they use to attempt to defraud retail investors  but they do not address any of them but continue to blindly spew nonsense in their favour. At this point its really simple, buy, hold and wait out the storms for rocket launch. No one said it wasn't going to be a rough ride but at the end we will see who has the last laugh. 
  • Lewtx
    2021-04-17
    Lewtx
    Sounds like its everyone else's fault but not themselves ever. 
  • PaulMardling
    2021-04-16
    PaulMardling
    Shouldn't the hedge funds take some responsibility for their predatory shorting aming to try to bankrupt companies?
  • TaiGerGenie
    2021-04-16
    TaiGerGenie
    Oh come on.... is that considered investing advice or are you just stretching
  • Gfree
    2021-04-16
    Gfree
    Like and reply please!
  • tingshen96
    2021-04-16
    tingshen96
    H
Leave a comment
8