Maybe some people think that, but sometimes people are deluded or simply are investing based on the greater fool theory.
The latter reason means that even the market as a whole might not actually believe in the current market cap, in the long term.
I'm personally super skeptical of this market cap. I've been renting a Tesla Model 3 the last couple weeks. It's an awesome car that I would recommend to anyone. When you first drive it you can appreciate what a good job Tesla have done to make it feel like a car from the future. But at the end of the day it's a car. It's got lots of small flaws too, and the self-driving features have scared the shit out of me due to errors they made more than a few times already.
Based on this experience it seems completely implausible that Tesla will be able to keep up this "car from the future" experience for very long. How? They're not a leader in self driving, and even if they were, why would they remain so indefinitely? What other innovations would justify this image? People will get used to electric vehicles very quickly, that won't feel new anymore before long.
I think you are overestimating the rationality of car customers. Legacy car companies have been pulling a slight of hand for years. Build an aspirational dynamic brand that delivers compromised products that hurt the customer. People will become financially and emotionally invested and then you have them. The long lasting metal seal can be replaced with plastic. Safe emissions can be replaced with a defeat device. And practical small cars can be replaced with city cars that are too small for a stroller/pram. Brilliant!
The latter reason means that even the market as a whole might not actually believe in the current market cap, in the long term.
I'm personally super skeptical of this market cap. I've been renting a Tesla Model 3 the last couple weeks. It's an awesome car that I would recommend to anyone. When you first drive it you can appreciate what a good job Tesla have done to make it feel like a car from the future. But at the end of the day it's a car. It's got lots of small flaws too, and the self-driving features have scared the shit out of me due to errors they made more than a few times already.
Based on this experience it seems completely implausible that Tesla will be able to keep up this "car from the future" experience for very long. How? They're not a leader in self driving, and even if they were, why would they remain so indefinitely? What other innovations would justify this image? People will get used to electric vehicles very quickly, that won't feel new anymore before long.