Tesla's revenue from China more than tripled in 2016
China contributed $1.07bn to Tesla's revenue in 2016, triple the previous year, and 15% of total sales, according to a regulatory filing. Tesla boss Elon Musk has previously said that China will be the company's largest market. China intends to build 800,000 charging points in 2017 to meet the increasing demand of EVs in the country, according to the National Energy Administration.
The Tesla Model X car is displayed on media day at the Paris auto show, in Paris, France, Sept 29, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

Tesla's revenue from China more than tripled to $1.07 billion last year, rekindling faith that the country will eventually become the company's biggest market as predicted by Tesla boss Elon Musk.

China contributed more than 15 percent of Tesla's $7 billion total revenue last year, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Sales from the United States reached $4.2 billion or 60 percent.

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2003, the company has been seen as a "disrupter" in the traditional auto industry and is one of the leading electric car maker.

The surge in China sales comes after a soft year in 2015 when Tesla's revenue fell by a third, due to slow deliveries and orders.

Last month, Zhanjiang city in Guangdong province announced that the first four Tesla superchargers have been set up and put into use. The plug-in speeds up the charging process by up to 16 times.

All up, the country plans to build 800,000 charging points this year, including 100,000 public ones, for electric vehicles to meet increasing demand, according to the National Energy Administration.

More electric cars are already sold in China than in the rest of the world combined, according to an earlier report by Reuters.