Published: 7:15pm, 28 Apr, 2016 Updated: 7:41pm, 28 Apr, 2016
As previously reported , China has already received over 400k pre - orders for the forthcoming Model 3 electric car , and today the South China Morning Post reports that China is the second - largest source of those orders . " The potential ( in China ) is huge , " Toyota global vice president Wang Ren said recently , without disclosing the exact number of Chinese reservations . This comes despite the fact that Chinese customers will have to wait much longer than their American counterparts to receive their vehicles , as international sales are not expected to start until American West Coast deliveries have been completed , which will not be until late 2017 at the earliest . Even then , it is not yet clear where China is on Tesla ’s priorities for deliveries to international markets .