Tesla China has denied that the company is monitoring its car owners through in-vehicle cameras, which has been hotly discussed by Chinese Internet users.

The company's clarification was cited by the Shanghai Securities News on March 19, saying that Tesla's vehicles do not violate users' privacy through in-vehicle cameras.

All Tesla vehicles in the Chinese market do not have in-car cameras turned on and are not involved in Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta testing, Tesla China said.

Tesla's privacy policy complies with Chinese laws and regulations, the company said, adding that it places a high priority on protecting user privacy by equipping itself with the world's leading cybersecurity system.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said the FSD test was expanded to 2,000 users and would remove testing privileges from users who could not concentrate.

This has prompted many users to question how Tesla knows whether the owners participating in the test are concentrating or not.

When asked on Twitter if the cameras in Tesla's cars detect the owner's gaze, Musk replied "Yes."

The response was picked up by a large number of Chinese media outlets, sparking a debate among Chinese Internet users about whether Tesla was monitoring owners through in-car cameras.

Tesla rewrote the underlying code for FSD last year and began testing it for US users.

FSD test videos circulating online show that the feature is very close to the control of a real person and can actively recognize traffic lights and animals.

The Tesla FSD Beta will be updated in the US in April and can provide owners with a view without using radar.

Musk said Tesla will upgrade all neural networks for ambient video and use subnets in key areas.

(Photo: CnEVPost)