"Clearly General Motors is undervalued and Tesla is overvalued," Jackson said. "Anybody can see that."
The typically brash CEO's remarks came amid a stock rally for Tesla, which is riding high amid signs that its mass-market Model 3 electric car may be on track to begin sales in 2017.
Tesla lost $773 million last year, an improvement compared to the $888.6 million in lost in 2015 . GM, by comparison, turned a $9.4 billion profit in 2016. GM sold 10 million vehicles worldwide in 2016 — or more than 130 times Tesla's 76,230 vehicles for the year..
Investors have driven up Tesla shares under Musk, who has pledged a massive surge in sales of the company's electric vehicles, batteries and solar energy systems. Tesla's latest market increase came after Piper Jaffray analyst Alex Potter upgraded Tesla's stock on Monday to a price target of $368, up from his previous $223. On Tuesday, Tesla shares settled down, trading midday at $310.16, down 0.72% or $2.23.
"More so than any stock we've covered, Tesla engenders optimism, freedom, defiance, and a host of other emotions that, in our view, other companies cannot replicate," Potter said. "As they scramble to catch up, we think Tesla's competitors only make themselves appear more desperate."
Auto dealers are generally no great fans of Tesla, which sells its cars directly to the public from its own "stores" or its website. In some states, Tesla has had to fight franchise laws designed to only allow the sale of new cars through dealers.
Jackson, whose AutoNation chain had 372 dealers as of last month, offered some mild praise: "You have to tip your hat that he’s created a brand that has a strong, cult-like following," he said of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. But he took a dig at Tesla's perpetual losses.
"Selling vehicles at a profit would be very impressive," he said. "Giving away vehicles at below what it cost you to make them is not very exciting."
He added that Tesla could soon face some much tougher competition. GM is already selling a new long-range electric car, the Chevrolet Bolt. Other automakers have similar long-range electrics in the product pipeline. One of Tesla's challenges is that gasoline prices aren't heading up anytime soon because of the American energy boom, fueled by hydraulic fracturing techniques, Jackson said.
A Tesla spokesman did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment Tuesday morning.
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