PEIJING (Reuters) – Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Inc., said Saturday his company would be shut down if its cars were used for spying, his first comments on the news that the Chinese military has banned Teslas from its facilities.
“There is a strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information,” Musk told a prominent Chinese forum during a virtual discussion. “If Tesla used cars to spy on China or anywhere else, we would shut down.”
Sources told Reuters on Friday that the Chinese military has banned Tesla cars from entering their complexes, citing security concerns over the cameras installed in the vehicles.
These restrictions emerged as top Chinese and U.S. diplomats held a disputed meeting in Alaska, the first such in-person interaction since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January.
Musk urged greater mutual trust between the two largest economies in the world. In its statements to the China Development Forum, a State Council foundation organizes a high-level business meeting.
He held a panel discussion with Xue Qikun, a Chinese quantum physicist who heads the Southern University of Science and Technology.
In China, the world’s largest car market and a key battleground for electric vehicles, Tesla sold 147,445 vehicles last year, 30 percent of the world total. Still, this year it faces more competition between national rivals Nio Inc and Geely.
Musk has made several high-profile appearances in China, where Tesla manufactures and sells electric vehicles. In 2019, he discussed Mars and artificial intelligence with the frank founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma.
Last year, at a China-made Model 3 sedan ceremony, Musk danced enthusiastically on stage and took off his jacket in what became a social media storm.
Report by Yilei Sun, Cheng Leng and Ryan Woo; Edited by William Mallard