A retro drive-in… with robots
“An old-fashioned drive-in, roller skates and a rock restaurant will be installed in one of the new locations of Tesla superchargers in Los Angeles”. Musk announced it in 2018 and this project was born seven years later. With its steel facade, its 80 ultra -rapid charging stations, its two huge cinema screens, and an opening 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Musk’s restaurant may surprise by its retro-futuristic style.
The menu concocted by chef Eric Greenspan revisits the classics of American cuisine in Tesla sauce. There are Chicken & Waffles, Grilled Cheese, or the Tesla Burger accompanied by its famous “Electric Sauce”, and prices that vary between 4 and 15 dollars. The restaurant, entirely powered by electricity, fryers with cooking plates, could only be a creation of Elon Musk.
Another peculiarity: customers are not invited to give tips to the servers (a gesture however almost compulsory in the United States), as shown in a customer on X when he is in the process of commanding. Indeed, the company supports the tips of its employees and includes 20 % of service directly in the remuneration of its employees, according to the Los Angeles Times.
This place is a real extension of the Tesla universe. On the menu we find there: Cybertruck food containers, autonomous control terminals, and even a humanoid robot, Optimus, which serves popcorn. In addition, customers can order directly from the interface of their car before their arrival, thus avoiding any expectations. A geolocation system automatically detects the arrival of vehicles to trigger the preparation of the dishes. However, it is not mandatory to be the owner of a Tesla to come and get a Tesla Burger in the billionaire restaurant.
According to NCB News, giant screens project episodes of the cartoon The jetson, A series of the 1960s which, at the time, imagined what the future life of the Americans could look like. Each episode lasts about 30 minutes, the time required for a complete recharge.
Largest urban supercharger in the world
The brand herself announced it on X: “The Tesla Diner is both a retro-futuristic restaurant and a car recharge experience. 80 V4 supercombling stations are open to all the VE (electric vehicles) compatible with the NACS (North American Charging Standard), making it the largest urban supercompute in the world. “
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This opening comes in a difficult context for Musk, marked by the end of his friendship with American president Donald Trump, the fall in sales of Tesla, the Cybertruck flop. However, despite Elon Musk’s political setbacks, Tesla fans were there on Monday, July 21 for the opening, some even from states far from California, according to NBC.
The billionaire also said on X that if this first restaurant met with the hoped -for success, others Tesla Diners might be born in “Several major cities in the world“.