• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

2

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

3

Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026

1

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

2

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

3

Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026

Is Korea the next big market for Tesla?

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 13, 2015, 8:00 AM ET
CHINA-US-AUTOMOBILE-TRADEMARK
People visit a Tesla showroom in Beijing on July 9, 2014. Electric carmaker Tesla on July 9 denounced a Chinese businessman's lawsuit seeking millions of dollars for alleged trademark infringement as an attempt to "steal" its property and "without any conceivable merit". AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO (Photo credit should read WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Wang Zhao — AFP/Getty Images

Tesla Motors isn’t in Korea just yet. But a job posting for a vice president of sales for Japan and Korea hints at the luxury all-electric automaker’s expansionist ambitions.

Tesla (TSLA) is certainly considering Korea, but for now the company is focused on building out its supercharger and destination charger network, as well as other infrastructure in existing Asian markets such as Japan, China, and Hong Kong, spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson told Fortune.

Tesla believes Asia—and China in particular—could become one of its largest markets within a few years. The company has said in previous quarterly reports that it plans to expand in China as quickly as possible.

Tesla’s foray into Asia began in April 2014 when it started delivering its Model S sedan to customers in China, and then to Japan by fall. In less than a year, Tesla has opened three stores, a service center, six free fast-charging stations known as superchargers, and 25 destination charging locations in Japan.

Its entry into China was more aggressive. Tesla, aiming to meet lofty sales goals, went on a hiring spree in China. The company eventually amassed a staff of 600 people, opened stores and service centers, and began an aggressive rollout of its network of superchargers and destination charging stations, which are located at hotels, shopping centers, and resorts frequented by Model S owners.

China proved to be a tougher market to conquer than initially anticipated. The company sold an estimated 3,500 cars in 2014, below its sales goal and behind electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles produced by Chinese rivals BYD and BAIC. Sales continued to lag in the beginning of 2015. Elon Musk, Tesla’s chairman, chief executive, and largest stockholder, has placed much of the blame on a misconception among Chinese consumers that charging is difficult there.

The weaker than expected sales led to executive turnover and a restructuring; hiring came to a stand still.

Today, Tesla’s Asia job postings paint a more hopeful picture of its future in the region. There are at least 60 open positions in China, mostly in Beijing, and around 35 or so in Japan. Those numbers don’t come close to the hundreds of positions in North America. Then again, it’s an uptick from the one lone job position in China—a massive economy of 1.35 billion people—that was posted back in March.

Dan Dolev, an analyst with Jefferies LLC, says concerns about sales in China are overblown. A Jefferies survey released this spring found Tesla could achieve its 2020 sales target of 500,000 cars a year in North America and Western Europe alone.

“Conquering China is a bigger long-term goal,” Dolev told Fortune. “They’re still plugging along in China and I don’t think they’ve turned the corner yet. But remember, the problem they have in China is not about demand, it was infrastructure, which they are fixing, and perception. So infrastructure is a good problem to have in the sense that once they get more stores, more service stations, more charging stations, things will turn around.”

So what about Korea? Dolev stresses that China is really the No. 1 priority in Asia, although he expects eventually the company will expand there.

He compares the market in Korea to that of Norway, where the Model S became the top-selling car in 2014.

“Being the king of Norway, where the population is 5 million, doesn’t move the needle,” Dolev says. “Korea is 10 times bigger than Norway, but China is the real prize.”

 

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Raquel Urtasun
SuccessCareers
The ‘AI superstar’ CEO behind a self-driving truck unicorn on why Gen Z is a better hiring bet than industry veterans
By Preston ForeJune 13, 2026
2 hours ago
Bret Johnsen looks up, smiling, as he claps his hands.
C-SuiteSpaceX
SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen quietly engineered its historic IPO and became an overnight billionaire
By Sasha RogelbergJune 13, 2026
3 hours ago
Inside the race to rebuild America’s fuel supply chain for a ‘second nuclear age’
EnergyNuclear
Inside the race to rebuild America’s fuel supply chain for a ‘second nuclear age’
By Jordan BlumJune 13, 2026
4 hours ago
How Elon Musk rewrote SpaceX’s story—and turned it into the greatest IPO debut in history
InnovationFinance
How Elon Musk rewrote SpaceX’s story—and turned it into the greatest IPO debut in history
By Shawn TullyJune 13, 2026
4 hours ago
axel
CommentaryEntrepreneurship
Our budgeted $180 million year ended in the red after the Ukraine war. Here’s how we survived
By Axel SöderbergJune 13, 2026
4 hours ago
Anthropic cofounder and CEO Dario Amodei pictured in profile.
AIAnthropic
Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access
By Jeremy KahnJune 13, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
Investing
When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
By Jim EdwardsJune 12, 2026
1 day ago
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
4 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 12, 2026
22 hours ago
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
Success
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
By Catherina GioinoJune 11, 2026
2 days ago
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
Energy
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
By Sasha RogelbergJune 10, 2026
3 days ago
Meet the SpaceX employees who are set to become multimillionaires thanks to its IPO: from execs to even welders
Success
Meet the SpaceX employees who are set to become multimillionaires thanks to its IPO: from execs to even welders
By Preston ForeJune 11, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.