Tesla cars banned for two months in Beidaihe, the site of the Chinese leadership meeting

SHANGHAI, June 20 (Reuters) – TESLA (TSLA.O) A local traffic police official told Reuters on Monday that cars will be banned from entering China’s coastal region of Beidaihe, the site of an annual secret meeting of the Summer Party leadership, for at least two months starting on July 1.

The decision by Beidaihe authorities comes just weeks after Tesla cars were banned from driving on some roads in downtown Chengdu in early June, which coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the city.

The official from the Beidach traffic police, who declined to be named, did not give a reason for the move but said it was related to “national affairs”. The official said an announcement would be made soon.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Beidaihe, a beach resort east of Beijing, traditionally hosts a summer meeting of China’s top leaders where they discuss people’s movements and political ideas behind closed doors. Usually China does not officially announce the dates of the meeting.

Chengdu’s restrictions on Tesla cars, which have not been officially announced, came to light earlier this month after videos were posted on social media of Tesla cars being diverted away from certain areas by police.

Last year, the Chinese military banned Tesla cars from entering its compounds, citing security concerns about cameras installed on the vehicles, Reuters reported at the time, citing sources familiar with the guidance.

Musk said at the time that Tesla cars had not been spied in China or anywhere else, and that the company would shut down if it did. Months later, Tesla said that all data generated by the cars it sells in China will be stored in the country.

Automakers are increasingly equipping vehicles with cameras and sensors that take pictures of the vehicle’s surroundings. Controlling how and where these images are used and stored is a rapidly emerging challenge for industry and regulators around the world.

Tesla cars have several external cameras to help drivers park, change lanes, and other features.

China is one of Tesla’s largest markets as well as production sites, making Model 3 and Model Y cars for domestic sale and export from its plant in the country’s economic hub in Shanghai.

Tesla’s Shanghai plant produced about half of the 936,000 cars the US automaker delivered globally last year. However, this year the plant has been hampered by the COVID-induced Shanghai shutdown, forcing the plant to close for a record 22 days. Read more

Additional reporting by Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh and Kevin Huang; Additional reporting by Martin Pollard. Editing by Himani Sarkar and Muralikumar Anantharaman

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