At what point does investor enthusiasm at the dawn of a new technology spill over into irrational exuberance? The British railway mania of the 1840s, the dotcom bubble of the early 2000s and other stock market frenzies offer salutary histories.
In each case, the narrative power of a transformational technology swept away concerns over giddy share valuations until, ultimately, financial gravity was restored with a crash. So how does the boom under way in Chinese electric vehicle stocks compare?
Some observers reckon that valuations are already overcooked. Three leading US-listed Chinese EV start-ups, Nio, Li Auto and XPeng, are all making sizeable net losses but equity investors value them at $35.4bn, $15.9bn and $14.4bn respectively.