The Retro-Futuristic Tesla Diner Opens at 4:20 p.m. in Los Angeles
The restaurant channels the look of a retro-futuristic diner, with a curved metal exterior that resembles a spaceship but falls closer to evoking the design sensibilities of an Apple store or Disneyland's Tomorrowland. Massive 45-foot screens are located in the outdoor Supercharger section, allowing guests to catch a movie while about 35 vehicles charge. An ancillary charging lot on the far side of the building can accommodate approximately 75 additional vehicles.
Inside, circular banquettes and a long, rounded counter are situated in the dining room, and an open-air second-floor balcony overlooks the neighborhood. The diner is slated to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Chait was tapped to help open the Tesla diner, including hiring the team developing the menu, with the expectation of serving somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 people a day. Chef Eric Greenspan, previously of the Foundry, Greenspan's Grilled Cheese, and numerous other restaurants — and also the founder of New School American Cheese — was brought on board to build out the menu and lead the kitchen.
According to Chait, the scale of the restaurant posed difficulties, and the building didn't even have electricity until Thursday, July 10. Chait recalls Musk visiting the restaurant last week and telling the team that if a dish wasn't 'epic,' it shouldn't be on the menu. The Tesla diner will also introduce a new digital ordering system that allows guests to order from their car. The kitchen will begin preparing their food once their location is detected to be within a 15 to 20-minute driving range. Once there, customers may have the food brought to their car or eat it inside the restaurant.
At first, sources on site indicated that they have no intention of opening in the next few hours, despite the crowd waiting outside for a chance to get a drink from the rumored humanoid robot bartenders named Optimus. As the news spread of the late afternoon opening, the crowd began to thin out to just a few dozen.
Musk first announced the Tesla diner in a 2018 post on X, writing that he would put an 'old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA.' Chait says Franz von Holzhausen, the chief designer of virtually every Tesla vehicle, including the Model S and Model 3, was the main force and lead designer restaurant building, overseeing virtually every aspect of the customer experience. Musk later wrote on X that this diner would be the first of many to be built around the world, blending aspects of a drive-in theater and retro-futuristic diner with electric vehicle charging.
Additional reporting by Mona Holmes.
Exterior of Tesla diner. Matthew Kang
Matthew Kang
Bill Chait, operator of Tesla Diner in Los Angeles. Matthew Kang
A 45-foot screen looks over the Superchargers. Matthew Kang
Matthew Kang
Matthew Kang
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