I did that with Tesla a while ago, I'm not sure I'd invest right now. But I'm also not looking to sell right now.
The reason I picked Tesla is that they are way more than just a car company. They are a renewable energy company at a time when we are at an inflection point in renewable energy. I've been downvoted before for saying that, but I don't see Tesla as a car company and that's why I invested and why I think it's a mistake to compare their valuation to other car companies.
Tesla is involved in: Cars, solar panels, solar generation, a huge charger network, batteries, residential energy systems, and industrial energy systems.
Is it all down-side as OP speculated? Only time will tell, of course, some targets are putting it at market cap halving over the next 5-7 years. The most optimistic are putting it at quadrupling. Most estimates seem to think that there's room to go up.
That is the thing. Tesla is not a car company. It is much much more than that.
What are they doing that makes them so much more? Are they really that different than Toyota,GM,Ford,VW? I'm sure they have some differences but at the end of the day there is no wide moat that any of these other manufacturers can't cross.
They all make vehicles and Tesla certainly got a jump on the others with EV's. With that said, I hope they keep innovating and are super successful and drag the rest of the Industry forward.
This puts them on a roadmap to be compared to all gasoline companies.
The rationale is the same as yours, but considering the fact that other people will hype-buy it anyway so the price will climb.
It has nothing (or little) to do with industrial considerations. It's all about Mr. Market.
Eventually the music stops on that and someone is left holding the bag.