The Chinese government has banned Tesla cars from entering the coastal district of Beidaihe for two months. Secret summits of the Communist Party are held there every summer, which are said to fear espionage by Tesla cars.
The Tesla ban will be in effect in July and August, Reuters reported, citing a Chinese traffic police official. The reason is cited as “national interest”, and the government would soon issue an official statement. The date of the summit meeting is usually not made public, which is why the Tesla ban is presumably in effect for an extended period of two months.
The blockage is said to be related to Chinese concerns about espionage with Tesla cars, which are equipped with microphones, sensors and cameras all around. That equipment captures, among other things, vandalism on the cars and is used for the semi-autonomous functions of Teslas.
Earlier this month, Tesla cars were also banned from the Chinese city of Chengdu during a visit by President Xi Jinping. That ban was not made public but was made public via social media. Videos showed that only Teslas were then led away from certain areas by the Chinese police.
Since last year, the Chinese military has banned Tesla’s access to its bases, also because of the cameras in the cars. At the time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his company does not spy in China and elsewhere. Tesla later promised that all data generated by its cars in China will be stored in China from now on.
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