Fly-E Group Retail Hype Spikes Amid Report Of Stock Manipulation, NYC Fires, Battery Safety Lapses

The company’s e-bikes have been linked to multiple fatal lithium-ion battery fires in New York City and a string of safety violations, while its stock has faced prior warnings over alleged post-IPO manipulation.

Retail chatter around Fly-E Group surged Thursday after new allegations about the e-bike seller’s safety record and stock activity. 

In a report published Wednesday, The Bear Cave by Edwin Dorsey claimed the $136 million company is being manipulated by overseas stock scammers, is in the final phase of a pump-and-dump scheme, and sells products that endanger New Yorkers.

Fly-E Group shares rose 3.5% to $7.76 on Thursday before slipping 1.1% to $7.68 in after-hours trading.

The company primarily sells e-bikes to food couriers in New York City, but has faced repeated scrutiny over lithium-ion battery safety. 

A January investigation linked its bikes to multiple deadly fires, including a January 2021 Bronx blaze that killed 37-year-old delivery worker Christopher Valentin and a March 2023 fire that killed a 64-year-old man, according to a Streetsblog report.

The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) records also tied a Fly-E charger to a fatal 2022 Manhattan blaze.

The company has also been cited for selling batteries without safety certifications. 

FDNY inspectors reportedly issued summonses or violations to nine Fly-E locations, while New York City’s Department of Consumer & Worker Protection issued 77 violations and sent a cease-and-desist letter for online battery sales.

In March 2025, UL Solutions sued Fly-E for allegedly marketing products as “UL Certified” without authorization. The case settled two months ago for $1 million, with Fly-E agreeing to stop misrepresenting certifications.

Last month, a 76-year-old woman died in a pizzeria bathroom during an e-bike battery fire in Flushing, NY, which is less than a mile from Fly-E’s headquarters,  though the fire’s direct link to the company has not been confirmed.

“I believe they primarily do this to try and trigger short liquidations and deter short-sellers. It’s a good reminder to keep these positions small,” Dorsey also said in a post on X.

Concerns over Fly-E’s trading activity are not new. In June 2024, Cedar Grove Capital Management flagged on X what it described as “suspected post-IPO manipulation.” 

The fund noted that Fly-E’s IPO was downsized to 2.25 million shares at $4, opened at $5.50, and quickly fell to $3.59 before soaring again on unusually low-float-driven volatility. 

Cedar Grove warned that the valuation, which is at over 5.5x LTM sales, 62x EBITDA, and 129x EPS, was “clearly a pump” that would likely be followed by a dump, likening retail hype to “the company just invented e-bikes that sh*t gold.”

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘extremely bullish’ amid a 5,725% surge in 24-hour message volume, making FLYE one of the platform’s top 10 trending equity tickers.

One user predicted the stock would open between $10 and $20 a share and noted it had already jumped to $31 after hours, adding that it was “not a penny stock” but “a real company with a great product.” 

Another user countered that they were “super sure” it wouldn’t reach $20, saying if it did, they would quit trading and issue a formal apology, while suggesting it might instead test $11.

Fly-E Group’s stock has risen 84.8% so far in 2025.

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