Commentary I’ve recently been trying to get my head around Tesla’s ridiculous valuations. I have to confess, it’s been a struggle. Even after the current pullback in the market—with Tesla down 25 percent from its high back in November 2021—and despite its recent spate of recalls, it’s still outrageously valued. Its current P/E ratio is still over 300. That means investors are willing to pay $300 for every $1 the company earns. There’s a certain level of over-optimism there. I had been thinking about it for a while when suddenly the light went on. … It’s something I’ve seen before. So I gave it a name. I call it the Genius Premium. The High Price of Genius There are two things to understand about founder-led companies: first, venture capital funds love them and second, it’s rare for a founder to lead his or her company for any length of time. Most …