THEM’S THE BRAKES

China Restricts Tesla Use Over Fears That Cars Are Sending Sensitive Video Back to America

Beijing officials believe that the cars are able to record images through their sensors and store potentially sensitive information.

The Chinese government has reportedly asked some top officials to stop driving their Teslas to work over fears that the vehicles are constantly recording their movements—and even taking video of their surroundings. The Wall Street Journal reports the restrictions apply to some senior figures in government agencies, the military, and state-owned companies. The rule was reportedly introduced after Chinese officials claimed the cars are able to record images through their sensors and store potentially sensitive information such as location data and the contact lists of phones synced to the cars. Tesla didn’t comment on Beijing’s move, but referred back to a previous statement that said its privacy policy “complies with Chinese laws and regulations.” Meanwhile, in a separate national-security development involving Tesla, a Russian who traveled to the U.S. in an attempt to plant malware on the car maker’s internal network pleaded guilty Thursday, According to a DOJ indictment, Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, 26, offered a Tesla employee $1 million to install the malware.