Elon Musk says Tesla cars will not be used to spy on China

Beijing, China - CEO Elon Musk spoke at Saturday's China Development Forum in defense of Tesla cars, saying they would not be used to spy on China.

Elon Musk (49) speaks at a delivery ceremony for the Tesla China-made Model 3 in Shanghai in January 2020.
Elon Musk (49) speaks at a delivery ceremony for the Tesla China-made Model 3 in Shanghai in January 2020.  © IMAGO / Xinhua

According to CNN, the speech came just hours after the Chinese military reportedly banned Tesla vehicles from its premises due to concerns over built-in cameras.

The Wall Street Journal further reported that the national government was limiting "military staff and employees of key state-owned companies" from driving Tesla cars, saying they had "concerns that data the cars gather could be a source of national security leaks."

"There's a very strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information. If Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, we will get shut down," Musk (49) affirmed.

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The multi-billionaire compared the controversy surrounding Tesla to the US' threat to shut down TikTok in 2020. "Many people were concerned about TikTok. But I think this kind of concern is unnecessary, and we should learn lessons from it," Musk said.

China is a particularly important market for the American carmaker, whose Shanghai gigafactory began assembling vehicles in the final quarter of 2019.

Cover photo: IMAGO / Xinhua

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