Days after Elon Musk suggested that Xi Jinping should “figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan,” the Taiwanese minister said its military would not buy more Tesla Inc. TSLA cars.
What Happened: Taiwan’s Minister of Board of Military Operations Chiu Kuo Cheng told a legislative session that the Taiwanese army “will definitely not make any more purchases” from Musk’s company, reported Radio Free Asia.
See Also: Xi Jinping's Army Developing 'Invisible' Missile Launchers For 'Future Combat'
"The procurement of equipment must be in accordance with the needs of the army and in line with government policy guidance," Chiu said.
"The national army currently has no need to purchase additional Tesla vehicles," he added.
The military officials also reportedly turned off all the cameras of the cars it uses for security reasons, as each Tesla car has eight cameras that can relay footage back to the company. The report noted that Taiwan’s military currently has seven Model 3s and uses them for administrative purposes.
Check out more of Benzinga's Europe and Asia coverage by following this link.
This came after Musk, in a new interview, discussed China and Taiwan issues and said, “My recommendation…would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won’t make everyone happy."
Following this, Taiwan’s de-facto ambassador came down heavily on the Tesla CEO and said, “Taiwan sells many products, but our freedom and democracy are not for sale.”
Read Next: How To Buy Tesla (TSLA) Stock
Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
