Last month, China decided that Tesla vehicles posed a threat due to the fact they contain multiple cameras and have the ability to record video footage. The military subsequently banned Tesla vehicles from entering any Chinese military complexes or housing compounds. Now Tesla has responded.
As Reuters reports, in a post on China's Twitter-like service called Weibo, Tesla pointed out that the cameras in its vehicles are only active within the US. And that, "Even in the United States, car owners can freely choose whether to turn on its (the camera system’s) use. Tesla is equipped with a network security system with world-leading security levels to ensure user privacy protection."
Elon Musk also commented on the military ban last month during a virtual conference in Beijing, pointing out, "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."
Tesla has very strong competition in China, with one very cheap electric car already outselling it. The company is well-aware how easy it would be to see its vehicles banned from sale there due to suspicious behavior, and is therefore very keen to ensure the camera spying claims are proved false.