China might be one of the most lucrative automotive markets in the world, but Tesla Motors cannot seem to crack the electric car market in the country.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk told reporters sales in China were "unexpectedly low" in the fourth quarter, due to misconceptions on charging availability in the country.

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It is a valid criticism of electric cars in China, compared to the U.S. and Europe, China has not adopted electric charging stations as far as other providers, despite consumer interest.

China's state grid has built 19,000 charging piles and 500 charging stations, but this is not enough for the massive Chinese population. Tesla has added 23 Supercharging stations in China's main cities, a much lower figure than the 124 stations in the U.S. and 82 in Europe.

However, both the Chinese state and private electric stations are looking at mass expansion by 2020, with the goal of having 5 million zero-emission cars on the road in the next five years.

China is also inventing new ways to charge electric cars, upgrading 10,000 LED street lamps to also include charging stations by 2017.

Musk does not appear too concerned with the low amount of sales in 2014, claiming the 8 to 10 percent sales exemption in sales tax will come soon to China, further pushing Tesla's Model S to profitability by mid-2015.

In the same press statement, Musk also claimed he does not expect Tesla Motors to be profitable until at least 2020, when it has the Model X and Model 3 in production. Musk claims Tesla should be manufacturing millions of electric cars by 2020, showing confidence in electric car adoption worldwide. 

Tagstesla motors, Model S, Electric cars