I agree, but I do think they have shown brand preference so far, at least in the US. The supercharger network and the perceived iPhone like coolness of owning a Tesla (Musk's personal antics aside) are what is fueling it imo. If he does get the Model 2 to market, his market share will go up due to having an ecosystem (car plus charging network) already in place.
Yeah, but the magic of Apple in terms of the financials is that if consumers were indifferent between the iPhone and competitors, Apple would have to price it like the competitors or potentially engage in serious price competitions that could see phones be some 30%+ cheaper than they are. But consumers pay whatever Apple charges, and that extra is pure profit.
If Tesla is going to bring a new car to market and price it like competition, then they're more like an ordinary car company, and I'd give them an ordinary car company valuation.
I like a quote from the late Sergio Marchionne, who ran Fiat-Chrysler and executed quite a turnaround there in terms of taking a dying company and making it at least minimally healthy again. He was answering to financial analysts who thought it was foolish for him to acquire Chrysler:
"If we stand still and do nothing we are doomed. I can’t close it, it’s a car company. I’ve tried to sell it, believe me, but there are no buyers. The only way out is to build it"
That's forever been the reality of car companies, governments will not let them close. So unlike ordinary markets where the worst competitors fold, in the car market they keep coming back with minimally viable products at subsidized prices, and the consumers do purchase at least some of them.