'Shame': Former Tesla CEO speaks up about Elon Musk's decisions

Former CEO and co-founder of Tesla Martin Eberhard called Elon Musk’s company's reported decision to make a cheap Model 2 vehicles a "shame," suggesting him to focuse on cost.

"I read recently that Tesla has decided not to pursue their Model 2, their low-end car because they don’t think they can compete with the low-end Chinese cars," the Tesla cofounder Eberhard said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

"That’s a shame, they might want to rethink that. It seems like a better market than that gigantic truck they make,” said the first CEO of the electric vehicle maker.

Eberhard also called Toyota Motor "late to the EV game" which surprises him, adding that he has been "watching BYD for decades."

China has stepped up to compete with Elon Musk's EVs via its firm BYD Co that makes its renowned Seagull hatchback. The car cost 69,800 yuan, or less than $10,000.

The company also developed its EV supercar Yangwang which cost 1.68 million yuan.

According to a Reuters report, Tesla — founded in 2003 — had cancelled the plans for less-expensive cars, prompting an ambiguous denial from CEO Musk saying "Reuters is lying (again)."

The Chinese BYD has surpassed Tesla as the world’s largest EV maker in 2022.

Tesla is also facing delivery issues that are putting strain on the company.

Eberhard also said he was "super excited to see all these different characters in this space," referring to Chinese companies opting for electric car business.

He suggested that his former company "needs to be focused on cost, instead of focusing on technology for the sake of technology."