Chinese military wary of Teslas
In China, we are afraid that the Teslas are filming and recording what is happening in sensitive areas. The Chinese government has decided to restrict the access of Teslas to areas deemed sensitive, to com...
14/11/2021
In China, we are afraid that the Teslas will film and record what is happening in sensitive areas.
The Chinese government has decided to restrict Tesla access to areas deemed sensitive, starting with military bases, but also large state-owned companies. China sees US electrics as potential sources of espionage.
The Chinese authorities are more specifically targeting the cameras associated with the semi-autonomous driving system, which could therefore film and record images that are very useful to the American authorities! Such fears run both ways. The Trump administration had accused the TikTok application, a subsidiary of a Chinese group, of collecting data on behalf of Beijing.
As far as Tesla is concerned, Elon Musk quickly stepped up to the plate. It must be said that China is a very important market for the American manufacturer, a third of its total production was sold there in 2020! During a virtual conference, Musk assured that the data collected by the Teslas remains confidential.
And this is for him a kind of good economic sense: "Whether you are a Chinese or an American group, it would cost you a lot to do espionage. If Tesla used its cars to spy in any country, the company would be closed". It is therefore, according to him, "a very powerful incentive to remain very confidential".