Tesla cars banned by China's military on concerns over cameras

BEIJING • Tesla cars have been banned from Chinese military complexes and housing compounds because of concerns about sensitive data being collected by cameras built into the vehicles.

The order, issued by the military, advises Tesla owners to park their cars outside of military property, according to people familiar with the directive who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

The ban, relayed to residents of military housing this week, was triggered by concerns that the world's biggest maker of electric vehicles is collecting sensitive data via the cars' in-built cameras in a way the Chinese government cannot see or control, one of the people said.

Images of what was purported to be a notice of the ban were also circulating on Chinese social media.

Multi-direction cameras and ultrasonic sensors in Tesla cars may "expose locations" and the vehicles are being barred from military residences to ensure the safety of confidential military information, the notice said.

A representative for Tesla in China declined to comment. China's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to queries.

Tesla, like many other carmakers including General Motors, uses several small cameras, mainly located on the outside of the vehicle, to help guide parking, autopilot and self-driving functions.

Most Tesla models also have an interior camera mounted above the rear view mirror that can be used to detect whether a driver is looking at the road, wearing sunglasses, or looking at something else.

The California-based firm - which makes Model 3s and Model Y SUV crossovers at a Gigafactory near Shanghai - has not shied away from that fact. "In case someone messes up your car, you can check the video," chief executive officer Elon Musk tweeted in 2019.

Since then, Tesla has started using internal cameras in cars to monitor what it calls FSD - full self driving - beta testers, or Tesla owners who have volunteered to test out its driver-assist capabilities.

Concern over this programme contributed to the ban by the military, one of the people said.

None of the in-car cameras in Teslas sold in China are turned on or part of the FSD beta trial, the Tesla representative said, adding that the firm's privacy policies comply with national laws and local regulations in China.

China, the world's biggest market for electric vehicles, is key to Mr Musk's global growth ambitions.

The carmaker received significant support from the state to build the factory near Shanghai, its first outside the United States, and Mr Musk's strategy has been one of deference to the government, in contrast to his more combative approach in the US.

Tesla was recently called in by Chinese regulators over quality and safety issues with its cars, including battery fires and abnormal acceleration.

The carmaker was also forced into issuing a public apology to China's state grid last month, after a video purportedly showed staff blaming an overload in the national electricity network for damage to a customer's vehicle.

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