Photo taken on Oct. 26, 2020 shows the Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicles at its gigafactory in Shanghai, east China. Photo: Xinhua

Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk said China is likely to be the electric vehicle (EV) brand's biggest market in the long term, China Central Television reported on Tuesday.

Musk thought highly of China's commitment to pursuing a low carbon economy and sustainable energy consumption in the country's 14th Five-Year Plan, adding China's targets to reach carbon emissions peak around 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 are aggressive and great goals.

Having confidence that China's economy will perform extremely well in the next decade, Musk said China would be Tesla's largest market in the long run. Most Tesla vehicles would be produced in China which is also set to become the largest EV market.

Technology analysis platform Canalys reported China sold a record high of 1.3 million EVs in 2020, accounting for 41 percent of the EVs' global sales, just one percent lower than the sales in Europe. It predicted that EVs sales in China will grow 51 percent to reach 1.9 million vehicles this year.

Tesla is estimated to have sold 137,000 EVs in China in 2020 as the operation of its Gigafactory in Shanghai made its pricing more competitive on the market, China's Tianfeng Securities reported. China is now the market in which Tesla grows the fastest, while US remains the largest market where 206,000 EVs were shipped last year.

Tesla has encounters some negative media coverage lately in China, with frequent reports of the vehicles' alleged mechanical breakdowns having drawn the ire of the consumers. Recent security concerns that Tesla's cameras and ultrasonic sensors may be used for espionage have aroused heated discussions on Chinese social media.

Global Times