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Tesla Opens First Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles, with 80 Charging Stalls (cnbc.com) 76

Posted by EditorDavid from the fast-food-fast-charging dept.
Tesla open its first diner/Supercharger station Monday in Los Angeles, reports CNBC — an always-open two-story restaurant serving "classic American comfort food" next to 80-charging stalls surrounded by two 66-foot megascreens "playing a rotation of short films, feature-length movies and Tesla videos."

Tesla described the restaurant's theme as "retro-futuristic". (Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus was outside filling bags of popcorn.) There's souvenier cups, the diner's food comes in Cybertruck-shaped boxes, and the owner of a Tesla Model Y told CNBC "It feels kind of like Disneyland, but for adults — or Tesla owners." (And yes, one of the choices is a "Tesla Burger.")

"Less than 24 hours after opening, the line at the Tesla Diner stretched down the block," notes CNBC's video report. (One customer told CNBC they'd waited for 90 minutes to get their order — but "If you're a Tesla owner, and you order from your car ahead of time, you don't have to wait in line.")

The report adds that Elon Musk "says if the diner goes well, he's looking to put them in major cities around the world."

Tesla Opens First Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles, with 80 Charging Stalls More | Reply

Tesla Opens First Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles, with 80 Charging Stalls

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  • Tesla, get a real CEO (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Elon's wild dart throwing is getting old. Investors will flee. Tesla needs to focus on making better EV's to compete in the market.

    • Re:Tesla, get a real CEO (Score:4, Insightful)

      by flyingfsck ( 986395 ) on Saturday July 26, 2025 @11:42AM (#65546888)
      Tesla is not just about cars. Chargers, robots, solar power and now diner chargers, etc is what makes Tesla different.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Luthair ( 847766 )
        Hey look, I found the suckers you hear about being born every minute.
        • I think the true genius is taking something popular in the 1950s, a diner and adding an electrical outlet to it. Leon is a true genius.

          • I think the true genius is taking something popular in the 1950s, a diner and adding an electrical outlet to it. Leon is a true genius.

            No, its a PR stunt.

            "True Genius" would probably not be looking to acquire new land and establish new charging stations. "True Genius" would probably recognize we have gone through a century long darwinian process locking optimal refueling locations and acquiring that land.

            All we really need to do is take existing gas stations and slowly convert gas pumps to charging stations, in proportion to the local market's transition to EVs. Today? Maybe convert one pump at stations with 12 pumps.

            Yes charging

            • All we really need to do is take existing gas stations and slowly convert gas pumps to charging stations, in proportion to the local market's transition to EVs. Today? Maybe convert one pump at stations with 12 pumps.

              True Genius would take it a step or two past that. For example, it is a rare exception for somebody to be able to fuel an ICE at home, mostly restricted to a few farmers. But "most" EV owners can easily do so.

              This means that the optimal recharging locations and optimal refueling stations are actually somewhat different. Especially if you go from ~5 minutes attended fueling to ~15 minutes unattended charging.

              The latter gives businesses a much better opportunity to sell EV owners more stuff when they stop

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by drnb ( 2434720 )

                True Genius would take it a step or two past that. For example, it is a rare exception for somebody to be able to fuel an ICE at home, mostly restricted to a few farmers. But "most" EV owners can easily do so.

                Move current "EV" owners, which are generally the early adopter segment of the market. They are already taken care of, they segment already EV saturated. We've now moved on to the mass market segment. Again, different segment have different means, different circumstances, different options, different tolerances, different concerns, etc. Although public charging would be of interest to the early adopter segment when on a long road trip.

                This means that the optimal recharging locations and optimal refueling stations are actually somewhat different. Especially if you go from ~5 minutes attended fueling to ~15 minutes unattended charging. The latter gives businesses a much better opportunity to sell EV owners more stuff when they stop by for charging.

                Recall that I referred to starting with station that have 12+ pumps. Have

                • Slightly over half the population live in SFD and can thus be assumed to be able to charge at home. Even then, charging options at both apartments and work centers is expanding.

                  That a "build it and they will come sort of wishfulness". Its guesswork.

                  I'd argue that it isn't any more guesswork than building a new McDonalds or Chick-fil-a. Wawa is a known successful model. Heck, the one closest to me also has a line of Tesla chargers.

                  Restaurants may not be the spur of the moment decision you are hoping for.

                  Doesn't need to be "spur of the moment". People get hungry, want food. Many older people also want out of the car for a while. Combining those t

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by drnb ( 2434720 )

                    Slightly over half the population live in SFD and can thus be assumed to be able to charge at home.

                    You are making assumptions about means, risk tolerance, concerns, circumstances, etc that will result in many of these people not acting like early adopters of EVs. The product market fit that works for early adopters does not work for the main market. EVs need multiple product market fits for different market segments. This is what makes introducing a new technology so difficult, and take so long.

                    Technology Adoption Life Cycle [wikipedia.org]
                    Diffusion of Innovations [wikipedia.org]

                    That a "build it and they will come sort of wishfulness". Its guesswork.

                    I'd argue that it isn't any more guesswork than bui

                • Again, different segment have different means, different circumstances, different options, different tolerances, different concerns, etc.

                  Those are the kinds of things that define a "segment". But its not at all clear what separates EV users into segments. Its not unlikely that the only thing unique about early adopters is that they adopted early.

                  This is a reasonable test of concept, but I am skeptical people are going to build their lives around charging options. Most people will charger at home at night or at work during the day. So the market for stand alone chargers is going to be largely driven by people who exceed their range limit in

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by drnb ( 2434720 )

                    Again, different segment have different means, different circumstances, different options, different tolerances, different concerns, etc.

                    Those are the kinds of things that define a "segment". But its not at all clear what separates EV users into segments. It's not unlikely that the only thing unique about early adopters is that they adopted early.

                    Leading economists and investors disagree.
                    Technology Adoption Life Cycle [wikipedia.org]
                    Diffusion of Innovations [wikipedia.org]

      • That's part of the issue, they should be about cars first and foremost. All those other things cannot support themselves without the cars.

        Tesla investors are growing wary of Elon Musk’s futuristic promises [cnbc.com]

        • Especially if Musk actually founds a new political party as he claims. At that point, he should quit trying to lead Tesla and SpaceX. But he didn't during DOGE, which he also should have, so...

          • Especially if Musk actually founds a new political party as he claims. At that point, he should quit trying to lead Tesla and SpaceX. But he didn't during DOGE, which he also should have, so...

            His DOGE term ended. Let him drop politics. His actually skill set seems a better fit with Cars, Rockets, and Tunneling. His visit to politics a classical mistake many geniuses make. Thinking that genius in one area suggests genius level abilities in other areas. "Genius" is not general purpose, usually focused in a narrow niche. And even if one is a political genius, it takes a near lifetime of practice to get anything actually done in such a hostile environment.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by skam240 ( 789197 )

            I'm curious if any follow through will happen on that front. I'm kind of doubting it, as soon as any kind of feasibility study is done on the subject he'll be told that him pissing off about half the country kind of means such an idea is dead in the water. At least with him at the helm.

      • Elon has said that, in the future, Tesla will make far more money selling robots than cars.

        The projected cost of the Optimus is $30k. If it can cook, clean, and mow the grass, I'd buy one.

        If it's integrated with a Realdoll [realdoll.com], so I can have sex with it, I'd pay even more.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Tech Bro just invented the petrol station with attached shop/restaurant. Those things we have had for decades, and which (at least in Europe) many charger locations are modelled on already.

        As for Tesla's robots, they are rubbish and the demos were rigged. Their solar and battery offerings are over-priced.

        • Do tell me more about their battery offerings.

          For house scale backup systems there are some with lower dollar per KWh, but those are heavily weighted to enthusiast barebones systems that will require a lot of addons, labor and know how. If you are going to go with Enphase or Genrerac or another of the big all-in-wonder brands you'll be dropping more per KWh.

          There are reasons to not go with Tesla. They don't make it really reasy to integrate with gear outside the Tesla ecosystem. Generator support blows.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            It's probably worse in the US, most things related to solar are. In Europe there are loads of really good off the shelf options. Every solar installer will offer you a battery system.

      • In other words, Tesla is so quirky. Hopefully the knuckleheads at Hyundai and Stellantis have some restaurants in the pipeline - unless they want to miss the boat! But if they play their cards right, they too could have a Twitter entourage to rival Tesla's.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mspohr ( 589790 )

      Forget about cars, solar, batteries, robotaxi, robots.
      Cheeseburgers are the future for this meme stock.

  • Not French? Sit down for a couple of hour meal while your car reaches 30% charge.

  • I guess that's how you spell "cringeworthy" in "Starbase", Texas.

    • "Retro-futuristic"? guess that's how you spell "cringeworthy" in "Starbase", Texas.

      A simple image search of "retro-futuristic diner" [duckduckgo.com] shows that multiple sources envision similar appearances which means the name of aesthetic is accurate.

      If you dislike the aesthetic then that is OK but don't let your dislike of Elon Musk alter your perspective of reality.

      • It isn't me who brought the Ozempic-guzzling grifter's name into the conversation, Shirley, it was you.

        I guess you harbour some deep feelings for him which is OK, but don't assume anyone else cares about your special interest.

        • It isn't me who brought the Ozempic-guzzling grifter's name into the conversation,

          Correct. Your highly acidic reaction to news about Tesla made your feelings quite evident. My issue is that you have taken this feeling it applied it universally to everything related. What you are doing is utilizing emotional logic which is not recommended as it is the root cause of most suffering throughout history.

          I guess you harbour some deep feelings for him which is OK

          Quite the opposite. While I dislike him, I don't care about him and I encourage you to do the same because he's not worth the effort. That said, you are free to impugn him as much as you like b

  • Only 80 charging spots for an operation like that? That strikes me as a problem when people are parked in these spots for the full length of a movie.

    • The number of charging spots is probably determined by the amount of land available and the cost of buying it.

    • Only 80 charging spots for an operation like that? That strikes me as a problem when people are parked in these spots for the full length of a movie.

      All stalls have congestion charging. No one is going to sit around for the movie that costs them $1 / minute to watch.

  • Trying to find out how much power they have. There is no way in Hell that they have 80 fully powered superchargers. They may have 80 superchargers installed, but I would be surprised to hear that they have even 45kW per charger.

    • It's a massive battery to battery system. They also have what looks like an entire commercial block worth of solar panels over the parking bays (which won't make much of a difference). Combine that with the dirty secret that Tesla's finest cars can't use the V4 superchargers at anywhere near their rated power output thanks to their antiquated battery design and it becomes a bit more realistic.

      That being said, I suspect they couldn't keep all 80 chargers going the entire day. They must be relying on peaks an

      • Wow, an actual thoughtful reply. Thank you very much.

        People get bent out of shape when I point out that those solar panels won't make a bit of difference. They won't even do a single charger. Then, when I say that what they do is say that "we installed 200 super chargers", this is true. They did install the chargers, but those chargers are not any where near fully powered. Nor are they likely to be anytime soon.

        • Question is, do they really have to be? We all know ISPs oversell their backhaul, for example. That gigabit connection won't be a gigabit if everybody in the area is trying to download at full speed at the same time.

          Same deal with charging EVs, I think. Put more chargers in, preferably capable of full speed individually, but what are the odds that you'd get 80 cars in during the exact same 15 minutes? That every single one of them would be properly preconditioned for a full speed charge?

          If you have a fe

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by shilly ( 142940 )

          It all depends on the expected power draw per charger per 24 hours. UK utilisation for rapid chargers (not just Tesla) is about 3 hours out of 24, so it’s possible to use that to figure out the maths. I can’t quite be arsed, but I’d bet that would amount to a power draw per charger where solar could supply some reasonable proportion if the same draw were replicated in California, given the decent insolation there. I could be wrong, because I’ve not run the numbers, and obviously how

  • Diner may not be a well designed. (Score:3)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Saturday July 26, 2025 @12:59PM (#65546984)

    I certainly hope that Tesla took serious time to consider which materials they used to build the diner or outsourced the design to someone with significant experience in designing buildings for the fast food industry.

    I say this because the photos show a lot of white [cnbc.com] which, depending on what it's made of, can quickly turn a shade of yellow. Ideally, you would want a material covered in titanium dioxide, a white pigment that doesn't fade. They also have a lot of dark surfaces which is equally problematic because with time, clear protective layers may not remain clear, especially if the cleaning solutions begin to interact with the surface.

    Most importantly, having bright white and dark black everywhere means an increased amount cleaning because everything is highly visible on the walls which is problematic in the tight spaces where corners meet. You can see rounded black arch entry/exit is offset from the wall which will need to be wiped down because dust and grease accumulate. The rate of accumulation of course depends on what the surface is made of, how well it ages, and how well it reacts to cleaning solutions.

    There is a reason that McDonald's has switched to gray tones, minimal contrast, and simplified architecture: it's lower maintenance and lasts longer. I'm pretty sure they also have a standardized cleaning solution to minimize damage.

  • Ionna is doing something similar, though I don't think they have any with a "made to order" restaurant inside. They also have a retro theme. Some locations are just charging while others appear to have convenience stores and a lounge to relax in.

    https://www.ionna.com/ [ionna.com]

  • Musk seems to have pulled off the impossible - thoroughly torching his relationship with both the left and the right. And the windmills-cause-cancer right wasn't all that likely to buy into the electric car concept in the first place.

    Perhaps non-Tesla NACS-compatible cars will be allowed to use this?

  • Kinda sorta thought it'd be near a major freeway so travelers could access it quickly. Being in Hollywood means being really inconvenient from a traveler's perspective, unless of course this becomes a scenic destination...

  • This is lame. Tesla needs to see a Bucee's.

    • Or even just a Wawa. They have the ability to do burgers and subs, even vegan options. Plenty of drinks and snackfood available. Fresh fruit even.

  • Many shitty photos (Score:3)

    by NotEmmanuelGoldstein ( 6423622 ) on Saturday July 26, 2025 @07:07PM (#65547612)
    I saw an overhead photo of this last week and didn't know what it was. I can't find the photo now. This article provides a better view.

    https://www.captainelectro.com... [captainelectro.com]

  • ...
    Come to Zom-Zom's, a place to eat
    Like it was built in one day
    You can watch the humans trying to run
    Oh look, there's a rape machine
    I'd go outside if it'd look the other way
    You wouldn't believe the things they do ...

    (Down in the Park / Gary Numan)

  • I have better things to do than watch my car charge. I could be mowing my weeds or pulling leaves out of the gutters.

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