After the battles over 5G, social media and advanced microchips, Chinese electric cars are the new front line of US economic warfare.

Like any environmentally correct person in North America, I was toying with the idea of buying a Tesla to replace my beat-up eight-year-old Honda. While doing some research, this came up and suddenly everything makes sense. Its website says: “Tesla never sells or rents your data to third-party companies. This includes your personal data and driving history. We only share information about you, your products or how you use them with your approval.”

Approval? I guess that’s in the fine print you might easily miss.

Rather than just being a car company, Tesla is more like a tech and social media firm that endlessly sucks up data about you with your vehicle serving as their platform. The United States doesn’t have something like the European Union’s general data protection regulation (GDPR). But I am sure Tesla does very honourable things with your data.

Call me slow but now I understand what anti-China hawks such as US Commerce........

© Pearls and Irritations