Advertisement

Updated March 21st, 2021 at 08:13 IST

Elon Musk urges US & China govt to downplay concerns over spying after China bans Tesla

The statement comes after notice by the Chinese government reportedly made rounds of the social media in the East Asian nation banning Tesla cars recently.

Reported by: Gourav Mishra
AP
| Image:self
Advertisement

The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk on Saturday, reacting to the development announced by China that "Tesla cars have been banned in China over reports of spying", said that "if Tesla vehicles were being used for spying on China, the firm would be shut down." The statement comes after notice by the Chinese government reportedly made rounds of the social media in the East Asian nation recently. The government through this notice allegedly has asked owners of Tesla cars to "park their vehicles outside the military property," over concerns that the cameras in these cars are being used to spy on China. "Multi-direction cameras and ultrasonic sensors in Tesla cars may expose locations. So these cars are being barred from military residences to ensure the safety of confidential military information," the notice reportedly read. 

Musk urged govts of the US & China to downplay rising concerns over spying

Musk strongly denied the allegations raised by the Chinese government against his car company and said if a business is engaged in spying on foreign governments, "the negative effects for that company would be extremely bad," a leading US daily reported on Sunday. He explained, "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 has been urging the governments of the US and China to promote greater mutual trust and downplay rising concerns over firms sharing information with their home governments.

China is Tesla's largest market after the US

In a similar development last year, former President Donald Trump had threatened to ban TikTok in America over reports of users' data being mishandled by certain groups, who he had alleged, provide data to the Chinese government, via TikTok. Meanwhile, Tesla is one of the largest automobile companies in the world which has also created a niche in the electric cars section. After the US, China is Tesla's largest market that accounts for around a quarter of the company's global sales in 2020.
 
Musk further pointed out that spying would not fetch any credible information to any country that is involved in the activity. He said, "Even if there was spying, what would the other country learn, and would it actually matter?" China on the other hand is aggressively promoting the use of electric cars as many global car manufacturers including Tesla and General Motors Co., have launched their electric cars in the country. In FY 2020, Tesla earned a profit of $721 million. 

Advertisement

Published March 21st, 2021 at 08:13 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo