AutoNation's Michael Jackson Talks Auto Industry, Calls Out Tesla

AutoNation

had a record Q2 EPS of $0.73, a revenue-driven increase of 11 percent that came out a Q2 revenue of $4.4 billion, a 13 percent increase over analysts' estimates of 4.33 billion. AutoNation CEO and chairman Michael Jackson expanded upon the auto industry, after discusses their great Q2 results, on CNBC's Squawk Box on Thursday morning. "The industry is on track," said Jackson. Jackson said that auto retail is very much active in the short end of the yield curve, saying that the company hasn't seen a change in interest rates for costumers or for the cost of inventory. He included that when interest rates do rise, it'll be "sometime down the road."

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According to Jackson, high gas prices should come down, since people are driving more fuel efficient cars and oil production has increased in the United States. Regardless of whether or not they do, many drivers have adjusted to current gas prices, he said. Jackson also commented on

, noting that the company made a marvelous automobile. Tesla's stocks have been lower due to analyst skepticism. "The declaration that they're profitable, to me, is a bit of a reach in that, okay, in the first quarter they made $10 million, but the government paid all their sales incentives, 45 million [dollars] and the government created this electric car credit system that gives them another 60 million [dollars]," said Jackson. "So if you take away the government support, they're a long way from being in the black, and as some of those subsidies go away over time, we'll see how long they stay in the black," said Jackson.