HONG KONG, April 9 (Reuters) - A Tesla Inc ( TSLA )

founder and former chief executive, Martin Eberhard, said on

Tuesday it was a "shame" to hear that the company was scrapping

its low-cost car plans amid fierce competition in China.

Eberhard was speaking at the HSBC Global Investment Summit

in Hong Kong. Reuters reported on Friday that Tesla was

cancelling its long-promised inexpensive car that investors had

been counting on to drive its growth.