BEIJING (Reuters) – Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk said on Saturday that his company would be shut down if his cars were used for spying, his initial comments on the news that the Chinese military has banned Teslas from its facilities.
“There is a very strong incentive for us to be very confidential with all information,” Musk said during a virtual discussion on a prominent Chinese forum. “If Tesla were to use cars to spy in China or anywhere, we will be shut down.”
Sources told Reuters on Friday that the Chinese military has banned Tesla cars from accessing its complexes, citing concerns about the safety of cameras installed on the vehicles.
Those limitations came to the fore when top Chinese and US diplomats held a contentious meeting in Alaska, the first in-person interaction since US President Joe Biden took office in January.
Musk pushed for more mutual trust between the two largest economies in the world. In his comments to the China Development Forum, a high-level business meeting is being organized by a foundation under the State Council.
He held a discussion panel with Xue Qikun, a Chinese quantum physicist who heads the Southern University of Science and Technology.
In China, the world’s largest automotive market and a major battleground for electric vehicles (EVs), Tesla sold 147,445 vehicles last year, 30% of the global total. However, it is facing more competition from domestic rivals from Nio Inc to Geely this year.
Musk has made several high-profile appearances in China, where Tesla both makes and sells electric cars. In 2019, he discussed Mars and artificial intelligence with Alibaba’s outspoken founder Jack Ma.
At a delivery event last year for China-made Model 3 sedans, Musk enthusiastically danced onstage and took off his coat in what became a social media storm.
Reporting by Yilei Sun, Cheng Leng and Ryan Woo; Editing by William Mallard