Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng says the military is not boycotting Tesla vehicles, but it does not have plans to continue buying them. That comment came on Friday in relation to Elon Musk's recent comments about cross-strait relations.
Musk is Tesla's chief executive and said in a recent Financial Times interview that Taiwan should become a special administrative zone of China. Many Taiwanese politicians have condemned these remarks as negative towards Taiwan's democracy.
Taiwan's military currently owns seven Teslas, which come equipped with eight sets of cameras. Some legislators have brought up concerns that these recording devices could potentially leak sensitive military information. But military official Hsu Chin-teng says the vehicle cameras have already been disabled for security reasons.
Chiu says Musk's comments are not enough to implement a Tesla boycott and Taiwan is capable of tolerating and considering diverse opinions. But Chiu adds that if Musk's comments influence other countries' views on information security, it could have serious consequences.