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>The point is that Tesla doesn't move anywhere near enough volume or generate anywhere near enough sales to justify its market cap.

Buying TSLA right now is making a big bet on the Model 3. If Tesla comes out with a popular car (likely) and can make enough of them to turn a profit (little more skeptical on that one), it may end up justifying valuations. I wouldn't put my money on it, but I'm not surprised other people do.

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I think that's a fair point. I suspect Tesla will end up being very much like Amazon: a company that ships physical goods but acts like a tech company. That is, they'll operate on razor-thin margins and dump every penny of profit into R&D in perpetuity. That will probably give them a leg up on companies that pay dividends, at least in the short-medium term. Ultimately, though, they run the "risk" of being Apple: a company that has to spend inordinate sums on R&D in order to gain a 1- or 2-year window of exclusivity before the competition commoditizes their product.

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