What happened after Tesla opened a diner in Los Angeles? | Technology
L.Less than six months after opening, Elon Musk’s Tesla Restaurant has the feel of a ghost town. Gone is the Optimus robot serving popcorn, gone are the “Epic Bacon” strips inspired by the carnivore diet, gone are the hour-long, hundred-person lines that wrapped around the block. Even the restaurant’s star chef, Eric Greenspan, is gone. The Hollywood burger and fries emporium looks like a shell of the bustling restaurant it was when it opened in late July.
On a quiet Friday afternoon in December, the parking lot where Tesla cars were charging was half-full at best. A handful of people entered the restaurant, which the company described as “retro-futuristic,” ordering burgers and hot dogs or requesting items. The upstairs deck, or “Skypad,” was empty except for a pair of employees stringing up holiday lights. More staff than customers were busy wiping fingerprints off the chrome walls and taking out the trash. The restaurant was spotless.
The novelty of dining at a restaurant owned by the richest person in the world seems to have worn off. When the Tesla eatery opened in the summer, it brought together fans of the CEO and curious onlookers. But then came the anti-Musk protests, Noise complaints from neighbors and customers who say menu items often run out of stock or, when available, are served soggy and cold.
Greenspan, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate who helped found the Mr Beast Burger chain, told the Los Angeles Times last month. Tesla was leaving his restaurant Focusing on opening a Jewish deli called Mish. Chef according to Eater removed previous Instagram posts Referring to Tesla Diner as a newly minted ex-boyfriend.
Greenspan did not publicly say why he was leaving and did not return a request for comment. Tesla also did not respond to a request for comment.
Greenspan and other California restaurateurs praise Tesla Diner He faces pushback for backing Musk. The Tesla CEO is seen as a polarizing figure who donated nearly $300 million to the election of Donald Trump and later led the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) in a rapid and indiscriminate subversion of federal agencies. During a speech at Trump’s inauguration, Musk made what rights groups described as a succession of Nazi salutes; This was something depicted repeatedly in picket signs held by Tesla Diner protesters.
‘Grease meets The Jetsons meets Supercharged’
Musk is talking about his concept for a ’50s-style Tesla restaurant in Los Angeles. at least 2018 As part of the idea of having amenities waiting for drivers connected to Supercharger stations. He touted his 2023 plans as “Grease Meets the Supercharged Jetsons” and claimed the restaurant would open later that year. He called it “one of the coolest spots in Los Angeles” when it finally opens in the summer of 2025 and promised that if the concept goes well, Tesla will open restaurants in major cities around the world. There is only one so far.
“This is a pretty special restaurant. It’s worth visiting if you’re in the Los Angeles area,” Musk said on Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call, just two days after the restaurant opened. “This is a shining beacon of hope in an otherwise bleak urban landscape.”
After the restaurant opened, it received wide media coverage, but Bad reviews from restaurant criticsHe noted that the food was forgettable and that the concept was little more than a corporate branding exercise. Its menu consisted of fast food staples like a $13.50 burger, AKA the “Tesla Giga Burger,” and an $8 milkshake, as well as internet-coded fare like the $12 maple-crusted “Epic Bacon” strips and the $8 pint-sized “Wagyu Beef Chili Cup.”
A display of Tesla products included a “blowing up Cybertruck” figurine for $175 and a black hoodie emblazoned with the diner’s graphic for $95.
Tesla sent He said he has sold 50,000 burgers since opening at X in October; this averaged just over 700 per day. That month, Musk declared the eatery a success and suggested he would open other eateries near Tesla offices in Palo Alto and Austin. Tesla has yet to announce any official expansion plans.
The wave of food influencers on social media making TikTok and Instagram videos about the restaurant slowed in the months after the restaurant opened. Critics commenting on $13 hot dogs or posing next to giant drive-up screens playing Star Trek are relatively rare now. Musk, who typically posts dozens of times a day on
The diner also appears to have started hosting some events in mid-December, including a “Holiday Party on Skypad” that includes unlimited Tesla food and drinks as well as a live DJ for $75 per ticket.
As the restaurant narrowed down its ambitions, so did some customer complaints. The parsed menu was fully stocked and on a Friday in December the food came out hot and quickly. One enthusiastic Yelp reviewer said he visited the diner on a recent Saturday night. Sharing a photo of his meal, he said: “The burger was solid and the fries were crispy.”
“The best part was that it wasn’t crowded at all,” he added.
