On July 21, 2025, Tesla's first "Supercharger Diner" opened at 7001 Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, marking the company's formal entry into the restaurant business.
The site is equipped with 80 V4 Supercharger stalls; drivers can order through their in-car system while watching movies at an outdoor cinema. During its soft launch, single-day revenue hit USD 47,000.
Musk said that if the concept proved out, Tesla would roll it out globally. Space near Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory in Pudong has already been reserved, with an opening expected in 2026.
Yet it didn't go as planned. Less than six months later, in January, the UK's Guardian reported the diner had gone largely quiet.
The Optimus robot that once served popcorn was gone. The "signature bacon," inspired by Musk's carnivore diet, was dropped, and the lines that snaked around the block—hundreds waiting for hours—had disappeared. Even the star chef, Eric Greenspan, has left. The Hollywood burger-and-fries spot is a far cry from the bustle of late July.
From tech spectacle to operational strain: Tesla's diner cools rapidly
Set on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, the diner is a concept Musk floated in 2018. It bundles Superchargers, a restaurant and an outdoor screen, blending 1950s retro drive-in aesthetics with futurist cues.
Musk's aim was to give owners waiting to charge a place to unwind. In 2023 he heavily promoted the plan, calling it a mash-up of "Grease-style nostalgia and The Jetsons futurism, with Supercharging to boot," and said it would open later that year.
By the summer of 2025, the diner finally opened. Musk hailed it as "one of the coolest spots in Los Angeles," and promised a global rollout if operations went smoothly.
The opening frenzy didn't last; the comedown was as swift as the ascent.
Image source: Tesla Weibo
First, the tech gimmicks sputtered. A core draw was the Optimus robot, but patrons observed it was teleoperated rather than dynamically sensing its environment, and it only scooped popcorn, working roughly six-hour shifts. It was even caught "on strike," freezing mid-scoop until staff made calls and adjusted controls to bring it back.
Second, the in-car ordering system faltered at peak times. With Superchargers, car-hop pickup and an outdoor theater bundled together, opening-day afternoon waits stretched beyond an hour. Pre-ordering helped, but congestion persisted, leaving some drivers worried about overstay fees at the stalls.
Social media sentiment quietly shifted. In the months after launch, food influencers flocked to TikTok and Instagram with diner videos, but the wave ebbed. Few now bother to review a USD 13 hot dog or snap photos by the giant drive-in screen playing Star Trek.
Even Musk, who typically posts dozens of times a day on X, rarely mentions the diner anymore.
After the halo fades: the broader pitfalls of tech crossing into dining
Tesla's arc—from buzz to cool-down—highlights the common challenges tech firms face when they step into traditional industries.
Tech and restaurants run on different logic. Food quality, service speed and guest experience are the bedrock of dining, yet Tesla tried to transplant an automotive-style tech experience wholesale into the restaurant world.
In restaurants, a bad experience is hard to undo later with updates—unlike cars, where issues can be addressed over time via OTA upgrades.
Celebrity aura and brand halo don't last long in dining. The opening drew Musk fans and the curious, but novelty fades fast. When the experience falls short, loyalty rarely converts into repeat visits.
As one industry insider put it: "The diner's biggest value isn't the burger—it's the brand. It's essentially a physical ad set."
Image source: Tesla Weibo
Musk's envisioned "energy–transport–lifestyle" loop is running into operational friction. The model assumes charging drivers have ample dining demand, yet charging and mealtimes don't align well. Positioning the diner as a Supercharger amenity sounds logical, but parking to eat can extend stall occupancy and undercut charging efficiency.
Short-term traffic is hard to turn into long-term viability. The diner's launch drew heavy social buzz, with food creators crowding TikTok and Instagram. That marketing delivered a surge, but it didn't crystallize into a sustainable business.
As the novelty wore off and online heat cooled, the diner tried to pivot, rolling out events such as the "Space Deck Holiday Bash" to keep things going.
With the signature bacon gone, the star chef departed and robots off the floor, Tesla's diner may evolve in a more pragmatic direction—serving as a true "charging companion" rather than a tech spectacle bent on reinventing dining.
