If you bought YieldMax TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF (NYSEARCA:TSLY) for the double-digit yield, look at your account. The distributions landed. The share price did not follow Tesla up the mountain. That gap is the hidden cost, and it is bigger than the expense ratio.

What You’re Actually Paying

TSLY is a synthetic covered-call fund on Tesla. It parks cash in Treasury bills, sells call options on TSLA, and hands the option premium back to you as distributions. That works when Tesla trades sideways. It quietly punishes you when Tesla runs.

Here is the receipt. Over the past year, Tesla stock is up 31.59%. TSLY is up 34.01% on a total-return basis, which sounds fine…