Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc, speaks during a delivery ceremony for Tesla Model S sedan in Beijing, China, April 22，2014. [Photo/dfic.cn]

Tesla declined to release its order numbers in China. Earlier this year, Musk said that he would be quite happy if there are 5,000 orders in China this year. At this point, all he would say is that "the market is positive, and it might be higher than this number".

Tesla only got final approval from the government to import cars in January. Some customers have complained that they paid deposits as early as October 2013 and had to wait a long time for delivery.

Musk explained that the company held back these cars on purpose. "We， postponed the debut in China to address all the charging and service concerns of these customers."

Customers in other cities may have to wait. Musk said the service centers will determine when cars will be delivered in cities apart from Beijing and Shanghai.

Tesla owners still need to win a license lottery in Beijing. Moreover, the cars don't qualify for any of the government subsidy programs.

Wang Xiangning, a housewife in Beijing, said the family already owns a Lexus and the Tesla will be used for her husband's daily commute.

"I can understand the delay. After all, safety is the biggest concern for all electric vehicles. They have to be cautious."

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