Host City of China Leaders Meeting to Ban Tesla Cars for 2 Months

Tesla vehicles will be banned from entering China’s coastal district of Beidaihe, site of a private annual meeting of the country’s leadership, for at least two months from July 1, local officials said on Monday.

The decision by the Beidaihe authorities comes just weeks after Tesla vehicles were also banned from some locations in the central city of Chengdu in early June, which coincided with a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the city.

The source at the Beidaihe Traffic Police Brigade, who declined to give his name, did not provide a reason for the ban, but said it was “national affairs”. An announcement will be made soon, he said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Beidaihe, a coastal city east of Beijing, traditionally hosts a summer meeting of China’s top leaders, where personnel movements and political ideas are discussed behind closed doors.

China does not normally formally announce the meeting dates.

The restrictions in Chengdu on Tesla cars, which were not officially announced, came to light earlier this month after videos posted on social media showed the automaker’s vehicles being diverted from certain areas by police.

Last year, the Chinese military banned Tesla cars from entering its complexes, citing security concerns over cameras installed in the vehicles, sources told Reuters at the time.

Tesla President Elon Musk said at the time that Tesla vehicles did not spy on China or anywhere else, and that the company would be shut down if they did.

Months later, the automaker 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 capture images of the car’s surroundings.

Controlling how these images are used and where they are sent and stored is an emerging challenge for industry and regulators around the world.

Tesla vehicles have multiple external cameras to help drivers park, change lanes and access other driving assistance features.

China is one of Tesla’s biggest markets, as well as home to one of its biggest factories, as the automaker produces Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the country for domestic sale and export from Shanghai.