Tesla Opening New Data Center in China As Security Scrutiny Heightens

Tesla has said it is opening a new data center in China. Elon Musk-owned EV maker made the announcement weeks after many Chinese government organizations reportedly banned Tesla vehicles from their campuses over security concerns.

The new data center will collect data from vehicles sold in the country locally. Tesla was under the scrutiny of Chinese security agencies after it was reported Tesla cars' data collection from the cameras in its vehicles was seen as a security threat.

Data Storage Localization

"We have established a data center in China to achieve data storage localization and will continue to add more local data centers," Tesla said through its official Weibo account.

tesla loses to general motors
Tesla shares dip lower than General Motors. Reuters

"All data generated from the sales of vehicles in the Chinese mainland market will be stored in China," it said, according to IANS.

It was reported last week that the Chinese military PLA said it was banning Tesla cars from being parked near its bases.

Elon Musk then came in defense of the carmaker. "Tesla is not using its vehicles' cameras to spy on China," he said, to ease the sentiment in China.

Beijing's Crackdown

Beijing's crackdown on Tesla came despite China being Tesla's second biggest market outside United States with more than 30 percent of the company's global sales come from the Asian country.

Tesla Supercharger station
Tesla charging station Pixabay

Manufacturing Facility in Russia

Meanwhile, it was also reported last week that the electric carmaker was working to set up manufacturing facility in Russia. Reuters said in a report that Tesla is exploring options of opening factories in Russia.

Tesla, which makes electric cars, battery energy storage from home to grid-scale, solar panels and solar roof tile, and other similar products, reported record earnings in April, only to see the shares drop since then. Analysts believe that the company's failure to make a specific vehicle delivery estimate for 2021 may have been one reason behind this.

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