Tesla Drive-In and Diner

[PilotPete]

From TLDR...

Tesla's drive-in restaurant is finally taking shape (3 minute read)

Construction for Tesla's 1950s-style diner and drive-in movie theater Supercharger station has begun at 7001 West Santa Monica Blvd in LA.

Tesla is rapidly constructing a planned 1950s-style diner and drive-in movie theater in Hollywood that will also be a Supercharger station with 32 charging stalls.

Why it matters: If the country's dominant electric vehicle (EV) maker plans to use its first public restaurant as a national blueprint, it could augur the start of a chain of charge-and-dine stations, which would be a new retail category.

• Several existing food chains have announced plans to install EV chargers for customers to use while they chow down.

Driving the news: Nearly six years after Elon Musk teased on what was then Twitter that he was "Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA," construction is finally underway.

• Tesla got approval in August from the L.A. Department of Building and Safety "to establish a diner and drive-in movie Supercharger," reports Ottomate, a food automation and robotics newsletter.
• A permit posted at the site, at 7001 West Santa Monica Blvd., lists the contractor as PCL Construction.
• The architect is Stantec, which previously designed and built a water treatment facility for Tesla in the Bay Area together with PCL.

Of note: Tesla, which notoriously does not show its playing cards to reporters, did not respond to two email inquiries about the restaurant.

What they're saying: "Tesla originally planned to build the diner in the coastal city of Santa Monica but then moved the plans to Hollywood," reports Electrek, an EV news site.

• The Hollywood site, formerly a Shakey's Pizza, lies along historic Route 66, Electrek says.
• "The plan is for a two-story restaurant structure, surrounded by 32 charging stalls, with two movie screens and a rooftop bar," per Ottomate. "At ground level, carhop-style waitstaff may bring meals to folks who have ordered ahead from their cars."
• There will also be "two movie theater screens where clips of famous movies will be shown," reports Teslarati, a news site dedicated to the automaker.
  Details: "Groundbreaking gives us the impression that Tesla could have this project completed by the end of the year," per Teslarati
• 
  
• "While it's a lofty goal, this project is one of Tesla's most anticipated, and with the automaker opening its Superchargers to other car companies in the spring, charging locations are one of the most heavily sought-after parts of the EV ownership experience," Teslarati writes.
• Zoom out: The buzz surrounding the project prompted one specialist in architectural renderings to mock up a few unofficial concept images and post them to X, the Musk-owned site formerly known as Twitter:
  
  
  Ed Howard of Toledo, Ohio, who posts on X under the name @HowardModels, made these fan renderings showing his imagined version of Tesla's diner and charging station. Image via Ed Howard on X
  What's next: As the restaurant takes shape, it will be interesting to find out its name and whether Tesla plans to propagate the concept.
  

 

[CyberGus]

I'll have the Gigaburger with BAW sauce

 

[CyberSleuth]

I'll have fries and a shake with a side of TAILGATE RAMP

 

[JBee]

I'll have the Gigaburger with BAW sauce

I hope they don't serve anything from out of the rest room though...

 

[cvalue13]

The future we don’t deserve but need:

Remote highway supercharger drive-in movie theatres

 

[wanders]

From TLDR...

Tesla's drive-in restaurant is finally taking shape (3 minute read)

Construction for Tesla's 1950s-style diner and drive-in movie theater Supercharger station has begun at 7001 West Santa Monica Blvd in LA.

Tesla is rapidly constructing a planned 1950s-style diner and drive-in movie theater in Hollywood that will also be a Supercharger station with 32 charging stalls.

Why it matters: If the country's dominant electric vehicle (EV) maker plans to use its first public restaurant as a national blueprint, it could augur the start of a chain of charge-and-dine stations, which would be a new retail category.

• Several existing food chains have announced plans to install EV chargers for customers to use while they chow down.

Driving the news: Nearly six years after Elon Musk teased on what was then Twitter that he was "Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA," construction is finally underway.

• Tesla got approval in August from the L.A. Department of Building and Safety "to establish a diner and drive-in movie Supercharger," reports Ottomate, a food automation and robotics newsletter.
• A permit posted at the site, at 7001 West Santa Monica Blvd., lists the contractor as PCL Construction.
• The architect is Stantec, which previously designed and built a water treatment facility for Tesla in the Bay Area together with PCL.

Of note: Tesla, which notoriously does not show its playing cards to reporters, did not respond to two email inquiries about the restaurant.

What they're saying: "Tesla originally planned to build the diner in the coastal city of Santa Monica but then moved the plans to Hollywood," reports Electrek, an EV news site.

• The Hollywood site, formerly a Shakey's Pizza, lies along historic Route 66, Electrek says.
• "The plan is for a two-story restaurant structure, surrounded by 32 charging stalls, with two movie screens and a rooftop bar," per Ottomate. "At ground level, carhop-style waitstaff may bring meals to folks who have ordered ahead from their cars."
• There will also be "two movie theater screens where clips of famous movies will be shown," reports Teslarati, a news site dedicated to the automaker.
  Details: "Groundbreaking gives us the impression that Tesla could have this project completed by the end of the year," per Teslarati
• 
  
• "While it's a lofty goal, this project is one of Tesla's most anticipated, and with the automaker opening its Superchargers to other car companies in the spring, charging locations are one of the most heavily sought-after parts of the EV ownership experience," Teslarati writes.
• Zoom out: The buzz surrounding the project prompted one specialist in architectural renderings to mock up a few unofficial concept images and post them to X, the Musk-owned site formerly known as Twitter:
  
  
  Ed Howard of Toledo, Ohio, who posts on X under the name @HowardModels, made these fan renderings showing his imagined version of Tesla's diner and charging station. Image via Ed Howard on X
  What's next: As the restaurant takes shape, it will be interesting to find out its name and whether Tesla plans to propagate the concept.

Get ready for this to cause a tear in socio-economic relations. It's basically going to be a wealthy person's hangout.

 

[HaulingAss]

Get ready for this to cause a tear in socio-economic relations. It's basically going to be a wealthy person's hangout.

Why? Because you have to be wealthy to charge your Tesla and get something to eat at a diner?

School teachers are buying Tesla these days (cheapest one is under $32K after incentives).

 

[SlegMD]

100 years from now:

“Hey son, you know Tesla used to sell cars and robots, but they figured out a commodity that was even more lucrative and less risky- food! Now once upon a time there used to be a Cybertruck - your grandpop had one- and it had the “biggest ass wiper” you ever seen, could almost push a car off the road, anyway that’s why it’s called BAWburger, enjoy!”

 

[Friday]

I would love to see another Golden-Age of roadtrips like the 50's-60's were. These diners stops will inspire other EV friendly diner/rest stops, maybe wean us off the interstates and the words Fly-Over-Country can be retired. See the country, in all its hidden corners.

I may be waxing poetic, but reviving Rt 66 as a rolling museum would be very nice.

 

[wanders]

Why? Because you have to be wealthy to charge your Tesla and get something to eat at a diner?

School teachers are buying Tesla these days (cheapest one is under $32K after incentives).

Well, I can promise you none of my middle and lower class friends will be there, because they can't afford electric cars.

 

[Crissa]

Well, I can promise you none of my middle and lower class friends will be there, because they can't afford electric cars.

Why are you here?

All my middle and lower income friends have electric cars. (The ones that don't roadtrip) Because they're much cheaper to maintain.

You can buy a new Tesla for just over 30 grand.

Sure, their old Leafs, i3s, or Bolts won't be charging there - but why wouldn't they be able to eat there? And future cars will be able to charge there. Technology marches on.

-Crissa

 

[wanders]

Technology marches on.

And leaves some people behind.

 

[Crissa]

And leaves some people behind.

Well, it doesn't leave those who don't want to be left behind.

-Crissa

 

[CyberGus]

Well, it doesn't leave those who don't want to be left behind.

-Crissa

640k should be enough for anybody.