Elon Musk hits back as Beijing bans Teslas in spying row

The Tesla entrepreneur insisted at a Chinese government forum over the weekend that his cars would not become spies for the US.

Elon Musk says it does not make sense, from a business perspective, for a car company to engage in espionage. Picture: AFP

Elon Musk and his electric cars are at the centre of the latest spying row between the US and China after Beijing banned ­Teslas from sensitive military ­locations for fear that their cameras could be used for espionage.

The Tesla entrepreneur, who is greatly respected in China, appeared before a virtual business conference organised by the Chinese government at the week­end to insist his cars would not become spies for the US.

“There’s a very strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information,” he told the China Development Forum.

“If Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, we will get shut down.”

He said it did not make sense, from a business perspective, for a car company to engage in espionage.

China is the world’s biggest car market and last year Tesla sold 147,000 electric vehicles there, 30 per cent of its global sales.

Under the recent ruling, however, Teslas will be banned from military facilities, government bodies and sensitive state-owned businesses such as aerospace manufacturers.

Concerns include the eight cameras on the vehicles. They let the owners monitor the car and the area around it remotely as protection against theft or vandalism. The cars also contain ultrasonic sensors and a radar used in a “driver-assistance system”. Recorded data includes the car’s position over time and even data from mobile phones synced to them. China fears they could be used as remote monitoring devices and that images and other data could end up in the hands of the US government.

The Times