Elon Musk says Tesla will shut down if its cars are spied on in China, or elsewhere

Beijing:

Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk said on Saturday that his company would shut down if its cars were used for spying, in his first comment on news that the Chinese military has banned Tesla from its facilities.

“There is a very strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information,” Musk told a prominent Chinese forum during a virtual discussion, stressing that Tesla would be closed if its cars were spied in China or anywhere else.

Sources told Reuters on Friday that the Chinese military had prevented Tesla cars from entering their compounds, citing security concerns about the cameras installed on the vehicles.

The restrictions emerged as senior Chinese and US diplomats were holding a controversial meeting in Alaska, the first personal interaction since US President Joe Biden took office in January.

In his remarks to the China Development Forum, Musk urged increasing mutual trust between the two largest economies in the world. An institution under the State Council is hosting a high-level business meeting.

He was having a panel discussion with Xue Qikun, a Chinese quantum physicist who is now president of the Southern University of Science and Technology.

In China, the world’s largest auto market and a major battlefield for electric cars, Tesla sold 147,445 cars last year. However, it faces more competition this year from local competitors from Nio Inc to Geely.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV Staff and is automatically generated from a shared feed.)