Tesla cars may be bestsellers 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 for fear that EV cameras will pose a security risk. Although the drivers themselves have no problems, they will have to park outside the premises.
THE Wall Street Journal it also reported that China was limiting the use of Tesla cars by officials in both the army and “major state companies”. It told some agencies to ask employees to stop driving to work and to avoid entering housing estates for families of people working in sensitive areas.
The concern, as you can imagine, is that a spy can use the bunch of cameras in a vehicle like the Model Y to detail the facilities and their activities. 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, in turn, will record incidents around the car 10 minutes before it occurs. Newer vehicles like the Y and the Model 3 also have an internal driver-oriented camera. Although it is not an uninterrupted recording, it is theoretically possible to map a base or capture troop movements.
Tesla has so far declined to comment officially in addition to telling the WSJ that your privacy policies are in compliance with Chinese laws and regulations. However, the company’s head, Elon Musk, denied the allegations in a virtual forum. Tesla “would be closed” if it used cars for spying in China or any other country, Musk said, adding that there was a motivation to keep the data confidential.
Whether or not the claims are deserved, they can play a political role. China is still frustrated because the United States has labeled Huawei and other companies as security threats. Restrictions on Tesla cars can serve as a form of retaliation, especially with Chinese and American officials involved in tense discussions.