“If Tesla used her cars to spy on China or anywhere else, we would end our business,” said Elon Musk, according to CNBC, at China’s online development forum. “We are very motivated to be confidential about any information,” Musk added. The affair erupted after a report was reported by Bloomberg on Friday, with the Chinese military also advising electric car owners to park outside residential areas.
Investors did not support Tesla at the end of the week after the announcement of the report. The carmaker’s shares closed the week almost five percent weaker, only on Thursday and Friday Tesla lost almost seven percent on the stock exchange, the value of the carmaker fell by about 46 billion dollars in two, or about one trillion crowns.
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The share of Tesla’s sales in the Chinese market has been growing in recent years. The carmaker sold over 147,000 cars in the country behind the Great Wall last year, which roughly corresponds to almost a third of Tesla’s total production last year. This is despite the fact that the country is facing ever-increasing competition from the local Nio and Geely electric cars.
In addition, Tesla enjoyed support from the Chinese state in building the plant near Shanghai, which was the carmaker’s first foreign factory. Recently, however, the relationship between Beijing and Tesla has deteriorated. Local regulators are concerned with the safety and quality of Tesla cars due to battery fires and excessive acceleration.
Tesla, like other automakers, including the American General Motors, uses several small cameras, which are mainly outside the car. They help with parking and self-driving the vehicle. Most Tesla models also have an internal camera above the center rearview mirror. It can be used to find out if the driver is watching the road, wearing sunglasses or not looking into his lap.
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