Footage shows the flagship Tesla store in Bangkok, Thailand, following the tech giant's entry into the county in December of last year.

Elon Musk is hoping to compete with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) rivals such as Build Your Dreams (BYD) and Great Wall Motors in the rapidly growing Thai market.

The showroom in the capital city sits on a renovated Toyota base.

BYD and Great Wall Motors already have factories in the Southeast Asian nation but now several more Chinese firms have announced plans to invest in plants there.

They include Hozon New Energy Automobile, Chongqing Changan Automobile, and GAC Aion. The investments are expected to boost Thailand's EV production capacity and help the country become a regional hub for EV manufacturing.

Thailand is seen as a strategic location for EV production due to its proximity to major Southeast Asian markets, as well as its government's supportive policies for the EV industry. The Thai government has set a target of having 30 per cent of new vehicles sold in Thailand to be EVs by 2030. If this target is met, Thailand's EV market could be worth more than 10 billion USD by 2030.

In addition to Chinese EV makers, other foreign companies are also investing in Thailand's EV industry, such as Japan's Toyota, Germany's BMW, and Elon Musk's fledgling Tesla.

The Thai government has been providing incentives to encourage the adoption of EVs, such as tax breaks and subsidies for EV buyers. These policies are helping to drive the growth of Thailand's EV market.

Analysts now believe Thailand will play a major role in the growth of the Southeast Asian EV market in the coming years.