More Than A Place To Charge Your EV

LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 21: The exterior view of the Tesla Diner and Drive-In restaurant and Supercharger on July 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The futuristic Tesla Diner and supercharger station boasting a drive-in experience for drivers opened in Hollywood this Monday. (Photo by I RYU/VCG via Getty Images)

VCG via Getty Images

Located in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, the first Tesla Diner officially opened in July 2025. I visited the location in August 2025, both for breakfast and lunch. The opening craze has calmed down. There were no lines to greet the customers, just well-trained staff who clearly explained how ordering at the diner work.

Protests, once ignited by the Tesla founder’s ill-fated tenure in the nation’s capital, have faded. That political experiment left thousands of federal workers jobless, many federal programs discontinued, and the morale of public servants at an all-time low, culminating in a spectacular falling out with President Trump. With Tesla sales and shares taking a nosedive, Musk was forced to defend his CEO seat. Once hailed as the greatest systems thinker of our time, the question now lingers: can Elon Musk make a comeback? After all, in a July 2025 Gallup poll, 61% of respondents viewed Elon Musk in an unfavorable light, compared with 33% favorable, the lowest rating among the 14 public figures polled.

EV Charging as a Business Opportunity

Do not mistake the Tesla Diner as just a spot to plug in your vehicle and grab a bite. It is a unified brand ecosystem. Just as Tesla redefined the automotive user experience, the diner reframes the pause in a road trip as something worth stopping for. Musk has suggested that, if this first location succeeds, Tesla will expand the concept to major cities and Supercharger corridors worldwide.

Paired with the projected growth of the EV market, this strategy could seriously erode the bottom line of conventional gas stations. It is not widely known, but gas stations make relatively little profits on fuel. The real margins come from in-store sales, particularly food and beverages. EV owners, meanwhile, spend far more time charging than gasoline drivers do filling up. While it takes two minutes to fill a gas tank, bringing a long-range Tesla Model Y from 20 to 80 percent may take at least 25 minutes. That dwell time represents a commercial opportunity that Tesla is eager to capture.

To broaden the customer base, non-Tesla EVs are allowed to charge at the diner, as long as they have an adapter. According to Tesla’s website, there are 80 V4 Supercharger stalls available for Tesla vehicles as well as NACS-enabled non-Tesla electric vehicles. More importantly, this setup replaces the typical gas station model where EV chargers are tucked away in remote corners. It removes the awkward, and often unsafe, trek across a parking lot to grab a snack or use a restroom, especially for female drivers at night.

Tesla Diner Equals Retro-Futuristic Design, Comfort Food, and Attentive Service

When you visit the diner, you will find a two-story space that mixes the spirit of a classic American diner with a spaceship-like aesthetic. Tesla calls it retro-futuristic, and the description holds. You get the shiny diner booths that trigger nostalgia, paired with sleek designs and robotic displays with signs talking about cooperation between humans and robots: “From the beginning, the vision has been for Optimus to exist in complement to the human worlds […]

and to ultimately help humankind reach its greatest potential”.

The first floor is where you place and pick up your order. A tagline on the wall proclaims, “Accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” The second floor, accessible by stairs or elevator, opens into the SkyPad, a seating area with views over West Hollywood and two 66-foot LED megascreens showing movies. On SkyPad, you can also pick up toy Cybertrucks, a clever souvenir for kids and those young at heart.

Compared to any other roadside charging spot, the Tesla Diner was exceptionally clean. During my visit, staff continuously mopped floors and cleared tables. You can order from your car and have food delivered, or you can head inside. Meals arrive in Cybertruck-shaped boxes, a nod to brand identity. Pricing feels fair. A burger cost $13.80 and tasted fresh. Tesla claims the ingredients are local and responsibly sourced, and the quality reflects that.

Beyond the burger, the menu includes an egg sandwich, tacos, waffles, oats, hot dogs, tuna melt, beef chili, and other crowd-pleasers. Drink options include coffee, kombucha, matcha latte, and milkshakes. The menu changes often, which seems in line with the evolving concept of this diner. The vegetarian and vegan-friendly options are rather slim, including grilled cheese, country-fried portobello mushroom sandwich and a market salad. This feels like a missed opportunity for health- and climate-conscious diners.

From Pit Stop to Tesla Brand Reset

In the end, the Tesla Diner may even encourage local apartment dwellers to consider buying an EV, given the added convenience. Mariia Abrashkina, a resident of West Hollywood, said, “I recently visited the Tesla Diner and was impressed. Having spent time in this space, I now feel more inclined to purchase a Tesla.” It is not perfect, especially when it comes to menu variety, but it points to a future where charging becomes less of a chore, especially for those without charging infrastructure at home.

If this business model expands, it could also reshape long-distance EV travel and reset expectations for what a roadside stop can be. A brand once beloved now finds some of its owners driving with bumper stickers that read, “All I wanted was Dog Mode.” Faced with shifting consumer preferences, fierce international competition from cheaper Chinese brands, and a phaseout of tax credits, Tesla’s business is aching for a much-needed lift. It will take more than branded burgers and chili to restore public trust. Yet, this diner might be a step toward making Tesla re-connect with its customers again.