Tesla CEO Elon Musk denied China's claims that their cars were being used to spy on their country, saying that the global lockdown will face the company would be shut down if they did.
According to Reuters, the statement comes after Tesla's cars have been banned from entering or go anywhere near China's military installations.
"There's a very strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information," Musk said during a virtual discussion, adding that his company would get a powerful incentive if they remain confidential with any information.
Being the world's biggest car market, China has become a key battleground for electric vehicles (EVs).
Also Read : China Imposes Restrictions for Tesla EVs; Says That Tesla's Camera Can be Used for Spying
Last year, Tesla sold 147,445 vehicles to China, equivalent to 30% of the EV manufacturer's global sales.
Despite the news, Tesla had received an immense amount of support from the Asian superpower, urging Musk to build a factory near Shanghai.
However, the company faces more competition in 2021 from local EV manufacturers like Geely and Nio Inc.
China's Concerns on Security
After the news, the ban surfaced that the top diplomats from the world's two biggest economies will be holding a contentious meeting in Alaska.
A source told Japan Times that the ban raised concerns that Tesla may have been collecting sensitive data through the car's built-in cameras without the Chinese government noticing.
Tesla cars use several small cameras located on the outside of the vehicle, and it helps to guide parking, autopilot and self-driving functions.
The imposed restriction informed residents of military housing and others that ultrasonic sensors and multi-direction cameras installed inside Tesla cars might "expose locations."
However, these concerns could hold water when one of Musk's tweets in April 2019 surfaced, wherein he said that the internal camera might be used to record incidents.
It’s there for when we start competing with Uber/Lyft & people allow their car to earn money for them as part of the Tesla shared autonomy fleet. In case someone messes up your car, you can check the video.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2019
During that time, he said via a tweet that the car might be used when the company starts competing against Uber and Lyft.
The tweet also mentioned the company's goal is for Tesla's robotaxi fleet to be ready by the end of 2021.
Musk also boasted the release of the company's first computer chip to facilitate the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature, which utilizes the alleged hidden camera.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg requested China's Defense Ministry for comments about the military move, but the country did not immediately respond.
The CEO's Response
Musk, who also owns SpaceX, pointed out that China must not concern itself too much about the espionage allegations.
He also said that China was fortunate that the shutdown campaign against ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok did not push through despite multitudes of concerns that China was spying via the popular app.
"If there was spying, what would the other country learn and would it actually matter? In the vast majority of cases, it doesn't even matter," he questioned.
During a high-level business gathering hosted by a foundation under the State Council, Musk campaigned for greater mutual trust between China and the United States.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Lee Mercado
