Elon has a simple solution for Tesla spy cameras in China

Elon Musk has a simple solution for Tesla cars equipped with cameras that can spy: Just do not turn them on! It’s just that easy. All this and more in The Morning Shift for 7 April 2021.

1st gear: I wish America was fun for everyone in car technology in a fun way

Friend of Jalopnik John Voelcker points on Twitter that America is basically a free option for car technology in the new era, compared to China, which is dropping the hammer Tesla’s cameras in the car.

We do have issues with these cameras here in America, but the difference in our case is Consumer Reports. The news from China is that the army itself is angry, as Reuters reports:

Cameras in Tesla cars are not activated outside North America, the American carmaker said on its Chinese social media page on Wednesday to try to alleviate the concerns in the world’s largest car market.

Tesla is facing China, where the military banned Tesla cars from entering its complex in March, citing security cameras in its vehicles, sources told Reuters.

[…]

At a virtual forum in Beijing in March, which was held not long after reports of the ban surfaced, Tesla founder Elon Musk emphasized the company’s business motivations to protect users’ privacy.

“There is a very strong incentive for us to be very confidential with any information,” Musk said.

“If Tesla uses cars to spy on China or anywhere else, we will be shut down.”

Elon has made more comments that are very similar to Amazon’s recent defense of ‘You do not really believe that thing in bottles fluff, do you?As Bloomberg reports:

Speaking at a conference, Musk said that if Tesla ever used its cars to spy in China or anywhere, the company would be “shut down” everywhere.

“If a commercial company spies, the negative consequences for the company will be extremely bad,” he told the China Development Forum, a meeting of a unit of the country’s government council, last month.

America is denied cool self-dip laser headlights, but we have no problem with this?

2nd gear: rebuilding the EPA sounds like a time

The news here is that the new EPA chief wants to lay down stricter exhaust emission standards that have been rolled back under Trump. What interests me is this discussion of rebuilding a administration that was beaten by Trump, as Bloomberg reports:

[EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s] first task is to rebuild the agency, which shook an estimated 700 scientists during Trump’s term. He must also rebuild morale among EPA employees who have remained, including many who have said they are belittled under Trump and are still distrustful of executives who go along with the old regime.

“The secret sauce here goes back to the agency’s original mission, which protects people and natural resources, and creates a welcoming environment focused on scientific integrity, ethics and values,” Regan said. “We believe we will draw from the talent that the agency left during the previous government, but we also believe that we will be really attractive to new scientists, new engineers, new legal minds.”

Regan is trying to strengthen scientific integrity at the agency, which, according to public health and environmental advocates, has diminished over the past four years. In one of his first important acts last week, Regan ordered the removal of dozens of members of two scientific advisory committees leading the work of the EPA – a move designed to reduce industry influence and lead to a vacancy for rebuilding the panels.

If any of you are reading this, there is one of the 700 scientists expelled by Trump, send us an email for tips at jalopnik dot com.

3rd gear: GM is very serious about side businesses that may or may not be Include flying cars

Nothing tells you that a car company is more serious about something than a statement about a technology that never made it past the Jetsons. That’s why I throw a suspicious eye on GM’s new promotion of its subsidiaries, reported in Reuters:

The veteran GM engineer’s Global Innovation team is looking for new ventures to further increase the carmaker’s revenue than vehicle sales, and is cultivating commercial delivery services to vehicle insurance ventures to meet future markets. value of about $ 1.3 billion. That does not include flying cars, a market sector that could be worth $ 1.3 billion, Fletcher told Reuters.

On a recent video chat, Fletcher counted silently before answering how many businesses her team keeps. “Just under 20,” she said.

Reuters did mention several of these various businesses in a separate article, and this includes expanding OnStar through applications and offering SuperCruise as a subscription service.

4th gear: America watches Europe get a cool hybrid jeep

Europe has strict regulations that put car companies under pressure to build motor vehicles and hybrids, much stricter than the regulations we have in America. Perhaps not surprisingly, Europe gets hybrid jeeps ahead of us. We already have it with the Renegade, until now the revised Compass, such as the Freep reports:

An update to the compact Jeep Compass sport utility vehicle, released in Europe on Tuesday, will add a lot of technology, including 4xe plug-in hybrid and new Android-based entertainment and connectivity systems.

The updated compass is expected to launch in Europe later this year, with US sales following in the first half of 2022.

The compass also gets a wider grille and narrowed, LED headlights to create a face that matches larger emerging Jeeps such as the Grand Wagoneer and Grand Cherokee L.

This report is based on the European model. Not all of its features will be transferred to US models. The compass is a premium model in Europe. This is an important part of Jeep’s identity, where compact vehicles regularly sell at higher prices and offer more luxurious features and materials than in the US.

Sad to see America as a second-tier market for efficient Jeeps!

5th gear: Nissan sales in China up 70 percent Until this time last year

I’m not sure if this is a case of Nissan getting the Chinese market right, or just a sign of how depressed things were at the beginning of the pandemic. Either way, it’s a big leap, like Reuters reported:

The company for passenger and light vehicles in China increased unit sales by 70.6% year-on-year in the first three months of 2021, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

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