China bans Tesla cars in seaside resort – concerns about espionage

On Friday, July 1, a new temporary ban was introduced in Beidahe. Until September 1, all Tesla cars are banned. Officially, no reason is given for the temporary ban, but it coincides with the Chinese Communist Party’s annual summer rally. A representative of the city’s traffic police says to Reuters that the decision concerns “national matters”.

The news follows a new pattern in the country. When Chinese President Xi Jinping was to visit the city of Chengdu in early June, all Tesla cars from the central parts were banned. And since last year, it has been forbidden for them to be in Chinese military installations – a decision taken after expressing concern for security, reports Reuters. This is because the American cars have most cameras on board.

In China, people are well aware of what they can achieve with surveillance. The modern CCTV network is well developed and the technology has been used both in Hong Kong and against Uighurs. In addition, it is so developed that you can also identify people via gait, not just through face recognition.

But why Tesla? Most other manufacturers have cameras and sensors capable of monitoring their immediate area. One reason may be how advanced Tesla’s system is… and that it is an American player.

Took over 25 Tesla cars

Tesla is proud of how connected their cars are and that this gives the owners great advantages. The fact that cars sold even today have logged almost five billion kilometers driven on autopilot is a strength that helps the company on the road to self-driving. Millions of miles and traffic situations that have been logged with cameras and sensors.

And even though CEO Elon Musk insists that his cars are not engaged in espionage and that all data from Chinese cars is now stored locally in the country – the Chinese management does not seem convinced.

You could also have had a real thorn in the side earlier this year when the German 19-year-old David Colombo went out and told that he had managed to take over 25 Tesla cars worldwide.

That he succeeded is scary, but he also mentioned what the risks can look like if you take this step further – which probably made many security coordinators shudder.

“What if an actor such as an international terrorist organization gets the ability to hack the vehicles in the official vehicle column transporting VIPs such as ministers and heads of state. It may sound like something from an action movie, but if you look at the development and published research in terms of vehicle safety – it is an absolute risk we must consider. The IT infrastructure of the German military transport fleet already hacked in 2020 which shows that players are interested in this sector “, he writes Medium.

Of course, this safety hole has been fixed, but it also highlights the problem that modern smart vehicles bring. Namely that data sharing is not a bug or error – it is the very basis and key function.