Elon Musk says one unexpected city will lead the way with electric vehicles

Elon Musk is betting there will be one city in the world that leads the way for the adoption of electric cars, and that city is not in the US.

Hong Kong will become the top city for EV growth, Musk said at a Tesla event in the city on Monday.

"I actually think that Hong Kong will probably be the leading city in the world for electric cars," Musk said. "It's going to be really a leading light because I think it will actually have more EVs per capita than any other city."

Musk has good reason to believe the city will become a beacon for sustainable transport.

Between 2014 and 2015, the number of EVs registered in Hong Kong grew 270%, according to figures Musk cited.

There are currently about 4,000 EV on the road in Hong Kong, and most of them are Teslas, Musk said. The company plans to bring its Model X to China during the second half of 2016 and aims to begin building some Tesla vehicles in China before 2020.

During a CNN interview on Monday, Musk said that the company must begin building cars locally to become eligible for the government incentives, which will ultimately help bring down the cost of it selling its cars in China.

Because demand for eco-friendly cars is expected to grow so much in the region, Musk said Tesla will pioneer charging solutions in Hong Kong first before taking them to the rest of the world.

One example Musk cited was figuring out how handle charging larger electric cars on the grid in China.

There are currently 340 super chargers and 1,600 destination chargers in China. Musk said that the company plans to build a large service center in Hong Kong and will continue to expand its charging network in the region.

Tesla will also continue to invest in new stores in the region. It currently has 15 stores in seven major Chinese cities and plans to open a new store in Macau by the end of 2016.