Tesla has unveiled a unique 24-hour Tesla Diner & Drive-In on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, blending retro-futurism with modern EV infrastructure. The venue, designed by Stantec with input from restaurateur Bill Chait and chef Eric Greenspan, features a chrome-and-neon aesthetic, offering classic Americana fare like burgers, fries, and “Pie Shakes” alongside up to 80 V4 Supercharger stalls.
Launched at 4:20 p.m. on a Monday, the opening drew long lines of Teslas and influencer buzz, with mixed reviews, showcasing Tesla's ambition to redefine idle time as a branded microexperience.
With roller-skating carhops, robot popcorn servers, and drive-in movie clips beamed into cars via Bluetooth, the diner is as much a brand spectacle as it is a dining spot, complete with Tesla merch and Instagram-worthy photo ops.
Conceived by Elon Musk in 2018, the diner transforms the utilitarian act of charging an EV into an immersive experience, aiming to capture customer attention and revenue during downtime. Customers can order via the Tesla app, triggered by a geofence 15 minutes away, with food served in futuristic packaging like Cybertruck-shaped burger boxes.
The diner doubles as a high-concept experiment to extend Tesla’s ecosystem beyond cars, integrating dining, entertainment, and merchandising into its Supercharger network, with Musk himself praising the “coolest” LA spot on X.
Musk has hinted at expanding the concept to other cities and Supercharger sites, like SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas, envisioning a global network of “good food, good vibes & entertainment.”
The diner’s a proof of concept for Tesla’s broader vision: a vertically integrated empire where cars, energy, software, robots, and even hamburgers coexist, turning a simple question like “fries with that?” into a glimpse of a new business model.