China has banned Tesla cars in government offices. According to a Reuters report, staff at some Chinese government offices have been told not to park their Tesla Inc cars inside government compounds due to security concerns over cameras installed on the vehicles, two people with knowledge of the matter said, the report said.
However, it is not known if all government offices in Beijing have imposed such restrictions.
In March, Tesla came under scrutiny in China when the military banned its cars from entering its complexes, citing security concerns over cameras in its vehicles, sources told Reuters. That prompted founder Elon Musk to say that if Tesla used cameras to spy in China or anywhere, it would be shut down. Earlier in April, Tesla said cameras in its cars are not activated outside of North America.
California-based Tesla, which makes electric Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport-utility vehicles at its own plant in Shanghai.
Tesla sells roughly 30 percent of its cars in China, made at its Shanghai factory. China is an important market for Tesla, with sales topping 120,000 units last year, according to local registration data. The California-based group globally delivered almost 500,000 cars in 2020 and expects more than 50 percent growth in 2021, implying it will hand over at least 750,000 vehicle, Bloomberg said.
China is also the world’s biggest EV market and sales of new energy vehicles are expected to jump 40 percent this year to 1.8 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers forecasts.
But Tesla has faced occasional criticism over issues such as complaints of battery fires.
