Internet-connected vehicles could expose sensitive military and government facilities, Stephan Kramer has warned<\/p>\n
Tesla vehicles could pose an espionage risk, Stephan Kramer, the head of Germany\u2019s domestic intelligence agency (BfV) in the state of Thuringia, has warned. His remarks come as German officials call for restrictions on parking internet-connected cars near sensitive government and military facilities.
\nTesla is an American company led by Elon Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump. The electric carmaker operates a major factory near Berlin, making it one of the few foreign automakers with a significant manufacturing presence in Germany.
\nKramer was commenting on the Bundeswehr\u2019s decision to restrict access by internet-connected vehicles to sensitive areas of military bases. The measures apply regardless of manufacturer, including Tesla.
\n\u201cWe should not assume that friends do not spy on one another,\u201d Kramer told Handelsblatt on Friday. \u201cThe same security standards should apply to Tesla and all other manufacturers.\u201d
\nAccording to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Germany\u2019s digital security watchdog, most new vehicles sold in the country have the technical capability to collect information, including location data, camera footage and sensor readings, and transmit it to manufacturers\u2019 back-end systems.
\nThere is no specific evidence so far that such data has been used for espionage, Handelsblatt reported. According to the BSI, customers are often unaware of exactly what data their vehicles generate and transmit.
\n\u201cThe cameras and location-tracking systems in [internet-connected] cars capture sensitive information,\u201d Kramer warned. \u201cAt Bundeswehr facilities, that includes information about military installations, operational procedures and personnel,\u201d he said, describing the restrictions as \u201cstrongly advisable and therefore proportionate.\u201d
\nThe intelligence chief called for similar restrictions in \u201cparticularly sensitive areas of government buildings, police facilities, intelligence agencies and other security-relevant institutions,\u201d including designated parking zones or access limitations.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Tesla beats Mercedes in sales<\/p>\n
Kramer also advised civil servants and public employees against discussing confidential matters inside internet-connected vehicles.
\nHis concerns were echoed by several MPs, including Marc Henrichmann of Chancellor Friedrich Merz\u2019s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Johannes Schaetzl, a digital policy spokesman for the Social Democratic Party\u2019s parliamentary group.
\n\u201cWe must not be naive: Espionage today is no longer carried out solely by agents, but also through technology that we ourselves bring onto our premises,\u201d Henrichmann told Handelsblatt.
\nSchaetzl expressed particular concern about vehicles produced by Chinese automaker BYD, which he described as \u201cblack boxes.\u201d\u00a0\u201cWe do not know exactly what data is collected or who has access to it,\u201d he said.
\nLast month, Tesla reported delivering more vehicles globally than Mercedes-Benz\u2019s passenger-car division in the third quarter of 2026. The German automaker has faced pressure from US import tariffs and growing competition in China, where domestic manufacturers such as BYD and Xiaomi are challenging established brands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Internet-connected vehicles could expose sensitive military and government facilities, Stephan Kramer has warned Tesla vehicles could pose an espionage risk, Stephan Kramer, the head of Germany\u2019s domestic intelligence agency (BfV)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t