Wait ends for eight as Tesla delivers Model S

A man looks around Tesla Motors' Model S P85 at its showroom in Beijing in this Jan 29, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

United States-based Tesla Motors Inc delivered the first eight of its Model S cars to Chinese customers in Beijing on Tuesday as it pledged to invest "hundreds of millions of dollars" on charging facilities and "hundreds of service centers" in China.

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The first eight customers included high-profile individuals such the president of the Lifan football club, Yin Xidi, and the president of the Beijing-based Autohome Inc website Li Xiang.

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla, said he hoped to form partnerships with companies such as State Grid Corp of China to lay out more charging facilities, "but charging stations can also be run without power utilities. Solar panels can actually work independent of electricity. Our main goal is to make sure the power is sustainable and clean."

In terms of production in China, Musk said because of regulatory and other challenges, it might take more than three to four years, during which time Musk predicted that the California plant will reach capacity.

"By that time, rather than creating another plant purely dedicated to exports, we would rather build in local markets, whether that's in China, Europe or elsewhere, so we produce more affordable vehicles."

Musk said instead of building a dealership network, he was more concerned about service centers in China.

"Dealership is the wrong approach. Tesla does direct sales everywhere in the world. In China, we probably see more demand than we can fulfill this year. Therefore, rather than trying to amplify our sales, we want to focus on service and Tesla super-charging locations, so every owner has a great experience."

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