China reportedly banned Tesla cars from military installations over fear of espionage



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Tesla cars might be hot sellers in China, but don’t tell the country’s government. Reuters and Bloomberg Sources say the Chinese military has banned Tesla vehicles from its military facilities over concerns that EV cameras pose a security risk. Although the drivers themselves are not in difficulty, they will have to park outside the premises.

The the Wall Street newspaper also reported that China is restricting the use of Tesla cars by employees of both the military and “major state-owned companies.” He asked some agencies to ask staff to stop driving their cars to get to work and to avoid driving in residential complexes for families of people working in sensitive areas.

The problem, as you can guess, is that a spy could use the multitude of cameras on a vehicle like the Model Y to detail installations and their activity. The Dashcam feature records up to 10 minutes of video from the front, and there is a looping buffer of one hour of footage. Sentry mode, on the other hand, will record incidents around the car from 10 minutes before they occur. Newer vehicles like the Y and Model 3 also have a driver-facing interior camera. While not a 24-hour recording, it is theoretically possible to map a base or capture troop movements.

Tesla has so far declined to comment officially apart from telling the WSJ that its privacy policies comply with Chinese laws and regulations. However, company chief Elon Musk denied the allegations in a virtual forum. Tesla would “get shut down” if it used cars to spy in China or any other country, Musk said, adding that there was a motivation to keep the data confidential.

Whether the claims are founded or not, they can play a political role. China is still frustrated that the United States has called Huawei and other companies a security threat. Restrictions on Tesla cars could serve as a form of retaliation, especially with Chinese and US officials engaged in tense discussions.

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