Tesla in Tokyo

Tesla, the US maker of electric sportscars, has opened its first Asian showroom in Tokyo.

The Palo Alto, California-based Tesla Motors has globally sold only 1,400 of the electric cars - which start at $101,500 in the US (and 1.5 times that in Japan).

And while the price for electronic vehicles is likely to come down, a major drawback remains the lack of recharging stations, which make them risky for long distance driving.

Toyota is a shareholder in the American company, recently investing $50 million in Tesla stock, and signing a $60 million contract to have Tesla help develop an electric version of Toyota's RAV4 crossover vehicle. Japanese electronics maker Panasonic also supplies the cars' batteries.

In Japan, electric vehicles are tax-free and eligible for government incentive cash payments that can reduce the price tag by a quarter of the retail price.

More affordable electric vehicles are on the market already, such as the iMiEV from Mitsubishi Motors Corp., although sales at about 4,000 vehicles, mostly in Japan, still make a tiny fraction of overall auto sales.

Already showing wider appeal is Nissan's Leaf electric car, set for delivery in December. Its price in Japan is about 3 million yen with incentives, and about $25,000 in the US with federal tax credits. Nissan has received 20,000 orders for the Leaf in the U.S, and 6,000 in Japan.