Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla Inc., arrives at the Axel Springer Award ceremony in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, December 1, 2020.
Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Saturday that his company would be closed if its cars were used for espionage, its first comment on news that China’s military has banned Teslas from its facilities.
“There is a strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information,” said Musk in a prominent Chinese forum during a virtual discussion. “If Tesla used cars to spy on China or anywhere, we would be closed.”
Sources told Reuters on Friday that the Chinese military had banned Tesla cars from entering their complexes, citing concerns over the safety of the cameras installed in the vehicles.
These restrictions came as the top Chinese and American diplomats held a contentious meeting in Alaska, the first personal interaction since US President Joe Biden took office in January.
Musk called for greater mutual trust between the two largest economies in the world, in his comments to the China Development Forum, a high-level business meeting organized by a foundation under the Council of State.
He was conducting a panel discussion with Xue Qikun, a Chinese quantum physicist who heads the Southern University of Science and Technology.
In China, the world’s largest auto market and a major battleground for electric vehicles (EVs), Tesla sold 147,445 vehicles last year, 30% of its global total. However, it is facing more competition this year from domestic rivals from Nio Inc to Geely.
Musk has made several high profile appearances in China, where Tesla manufactures and sells EVs. In 2019, he discussed Mars and artificial intelligence with Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
At a delivery event last year for China-made Model 3 sedans, Musk danced enthusiastically on stage, taking off his jacket in what has become a storm on social media.