China bans government employees from driving Teslas due to espionage risk

China is reportedly banning the use of Teslas by military and government personnel. This is because the cars with their outdoor cameras could be constantly recording images, which could pose a threat to national security if those images go to the US.

That’s what sources from The Wall Street Journal say . The decision would follow from a security review of Tesla cars by the Chinese authorities. It is not only the potential of espionage via the eight outboard cameras of the cars that is a problem. The Chinese are also concerned that the cars can access the contacts in the occupants’ phones via bluetooth. China fears that this information could be sent to the US. The decision would apply to “all persons in military complexes, government agencies and sensitive state enterprises such as aerospace companies.”

China did not respond in time for the news medium’s publication and Tesla only underlined that its privacy policy “complies with Chinese laws and regulations” and that the cameras in the cars are not turned on for all Teslas in China.

Such decisions are not new and do not only occur in China. For example, in January of last year , the US Department of the Interior banned government agencies from flying drones from China’s DJI. It did so from the same motivation that China has with this alleged move around Teslas.

China and the US have been engaged in a trade war for a long time. Prominent examples of fronts on which that battle is being fought include TikTok, WeChat, and Huawei. Trade with those Chinese companies is restricted or even banned in the US. In turn, China uses the Great Firewall, which blocks Google, Facebook and Twitter, for example.