China bans government employees from using Tesla cars out of espionage concerns

According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal , China is banning the use of Tesla vehicles by military and government employees, on the grounds that these electric cars pose a security risk due to data collection from manufacturers. .

Accordingly, those working for the military, “state-owned enterprises in sensitive industries” and other government agencies will be banned from driving Tesla cars. The decision came after a “security review” showed Tesla’s ability to continuously record footage of exterior cameras. The Chinese government is concerned that the images could be sent back to the United States.

Tesla is the latest company to get into a smoldering trade conflict between the US and China, despite the fact that China has chosen to embrace Tesla to push the electric vehicle industry. The decision against Tesla also appears to respond to US restrictions on Chinese companies, including smartphone maker Huawei, for a potential security risk.

And this new decision could also complicate the growth of Tesla in China, as government decisions tend to resonate significantly like in other industries. Tesla had its first profitable year in 2020, thanks in large part to the brand’s popularity in China. It is also the largest consumer of electric vehicles in the world, and Tesla is the best-selling electric vehicle supplier.

Making cars in China has long been a target for Tesla. First, the company confirmed that it was in talks with the Chinese government to open a factory there in the summer of 2017. China even loosened regulations regarding foreign manufacturers to Give Tesla more time. Other major manufacturers, like GM and Ford, had to produce cars in China according to the joint venture rules.

A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment (the company recently dissolved its press relations office). However, before that, the company made a statement about its data collection.

“Tesla’s privacy policy complies with Chinese laws and regulations,” the company said. “Tesla takes user privacy very seriously.”

The company also said the cameras inside the car are not turned on for all Tesla vehicles in China.

Tesla has also had a number of bad security incidents in recent years. In 2016, security researchers in China demonstrated that they can hack corporate cars remotely over Wi-Fi networks, allowing interventions such as squeezing the brakes, turning on the trunk and turning on. and turn off the wipers on the vehicle’s windshield. Meanwhile, most recently a hacker had access to hundreds of internal security cameras of the company through a third-party provider and this also caused many concerns.

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