China’s latest development has banned all Tesla electric vehicles (EVs) from Beidaihe. Expressly, its cars will be prohibited from entering the Chinese coastal district of Beidaihe, the site of a secretive annual summer party leadership conclave, for at least two months starting on July 1. The ban applies to all Teslas, even those owned by government officials.
Beidaihe Traffic Police Brigade officials did not divulge details on the new directive as the restrictions were not declared officially. Still, videos showed police diverting the Tesla vehicles from certain places in the city.
Official sources only said that the decision concerned “national affairs.” An official announcement about the directive should be made soon. Tesla, which has a significant presence in China, has yet to react to the development and has not issued an official statement.
Why ban Teslas in Beidaihe?
The ban is not so much about maintaining a tranquil, car-free coast but the fact that Beidaihe hosts an annual ultra-secretive summit of top Chinese leadership.
The event is always mired in secrecy — particularly from foreign observers. The exact dates are never announced; each year, some coverage emerges only after the summit has already taken place.
Many automakers equip their models with sensors and cameras to enhance passenger safety and avoid road accidents. Tesla models also have several external sensors and cameras for similar reasons. These cameras also play a vital role in the company’s much-touted autonomous driving system.
Beijing is worried about the risk of Tesla cars capturing images of sensitive buildings and activities of government officials in the district. They are concerned that these data can be sent later to the U.S. government. China also has specific laws that decide how tech companies utilize their data.
Tesla cars were banned previously
This would not be the first time its vehicles became an apparent concern for Chinese officials. In June, the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province barred them from driving on certain roads. This ban coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the city.
Last year, reports emerged that Chinese military personnel prevented Teslas from entering specific complexes. Authorities then noted that they presented a security concern due to their external cameras, which could transmit video data.
At the time, Tesla owner Elon Musk said that his cars did not spy in China or anywhere else and that the company would be shut down if it did. Months later, he said that all data generated by cars it sells in China would be stored in the country.
A big market for Tesla
China is a big market for the company, and it also has several production sites in the country where Model Y and 3 are made. In Shanghai, the company’s massive gigafactory produces 21,000 electric vehicles per week that the U.S. automaker delivers globally. However, the factory has this year been hobbled by Shanghai’s COVID-induced lockdown, which forced the plant to shut for a record 22 days.
This skeptical stance taken by Beijing is a drastic turnaround from the reception given to Tesla three years ago when the Shanghai plant was opened with much fanfare. Both the company and the Chinese government were on cordial terms at the time. The Chinese government didn’t even ask the company to partner with a Chinese manufacturer.
According to the experts, Elon Musk is not likely to confront Beijing over its move to ban the company’s vehicles near government premises. “Whether it’s Chinese or U.S., the negative effects if a commercial company did engage in spying – the negative effects for that company would be extremely bad,” Musk said at the China Development Forum in Beijing in 2021.
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