@Nakk Tesla developed the demand by turning an EV from a science experiment into something people would actually want to drive. Thier marketing is slim to none, and they have customer loyalty akin to Apple. Car companies don't charge $12k for beta level software packages. The tangible product they sell is a car, however they, in general, do not operate like a traditional car company, they operate like a data and software company.
So, because of the significantly different business model, it's hard to value them as a car company. Likewise, the valuation reflects much more closely with other software companies that happen to produce their own hardware. Cisco is another good example of similar paradigm, they had a great idea but had to make their own hardware to get it across the goal line. Pure Storage did this as well.
Apple has similar lines, however they have always been a hardware maker, so the comparison isn't quite as clear. However, the marketing strategy, and the brand loyalty built be Tesla just screams the same as Apple. People will vehemently defend them, for no other reason than a perceived superiority. Compare a Thinkpad to a MacBook. Both are premium level, extremely competent machines with fanatical user bases. Most people have no idea what a Thinkpad looks like though and will argue that the MacBook is inherently better, because Apple.......Tesla gets the same ride. There are number of similar performing EVs out there now, but Tesla was first on scene and the rest of the industry is in react mode, same as Apple. You still have a LOT of people that think a Model whatever is best, because Tesla.
Point being, you can't value a multi faceted product company like Tesla the same as you can a legacy automaker. The money made doesn't come from the same (or standard) streams.