When will China get its own Tesla Diner?

Author | Wang Lei

Editor | Qin Zhangyong

Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur, has officially ventured into the catering industry with the launch of Tesla Diner.

On Monday, at 4:20 PM US time, Tesla's supercharging restaurant, which had been in soft opening for a few days, officially welcomed its first customers. This multi-faceted entertainment hub, integrating dining, charging, and cinema, has been aptly named Tesla Diner by the company.

Musk himself did not attend the opening ceremony, but Tesla's Chief Designer Franz greeted guests, pushing open the doors to mark the official debut of Tesla Diner.

The scene was bustling, with the 75 currently operational supercharging stations in high demand. Customers had to queue up for meals and charging, with wait times reaching up to 13 hours. Some of Musk's die-hard fans even drove for six hours just to experience the diner and check in.

The restaurant is open to everyone, including non-Tesla owners, so it's not uncommon to see people driving off in Waymo self-driving cars after their meal.

01 Served by Optimus

Although Musk was absent from the opening, he did visit during the soft opening period and dined there, giving it high praise and proclaiming it would be one of the coolest spots in Los Angeles.

And indeed, it is.

Located at 7001 Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, near Orange Drive, the main building resembles a silver hovering flying saucer, designed by Stantec and spanning over 9,000 square feet. It features two floors, with a ring of neon lights around the sign on the ground floor. The stainless steel exterior and neon lights give it a distinct cyberpunk aesthetic.

The second floor is also designed as a smaller silver flying saucer, creating the illusion of hovering above the ground. The ground floor is open and transparent, with a stepped terrace extending outwards. The open-air viewing area on the second floor offers a panoramic view of Los Angeles.

Inside, the diner maintains a cyberpunk vibe, with a kitchen, dining area, and bar. The second floor also features outdoor seating and a bar. The menu, curated by renowned chef Eric Greenspan, offers classic American dishes such as burgers, chicken wings, and hot dogs, reminiscent of 1950s American car diners.

Musk set high standards for the dishes, stating, "If a dish isn't 'epic,' it shouldn't be on the menu." Notably, the packaging for burgers and other food items mimics the design of the Tesla Cybertruck.

According to the menu shared by netizens, prices are on the steeper side, with a basic burger set costing $13.5, and additional items adding $2-3 each. The restaurant also accepts DOGE (Dogecoin) as a payment method.

The most futuristic aspect of the interior is the debut of Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus, as a waiter. There are approximately 32 Optimus robots, not just as decoration but actively working, handling the entire service process from guiding customers to their seats to delivering meals.

Optimus can even serve popcorn and pour milkshakes. Videos shared by netizens show its smooth movements, able to catch empty paper cups with bare hands and automatically adjust if it detects the cup is too high.

A witty foreign netizen commented:

"No more need to tip the waiter."

Inside the restaurant, there's also an exhibition showcasing the development and iteration path of Optimus, displaying physical versions of all previous generations of robots since its inception.

The restaurant offers walk-in ordering services, but Tesla owners can skip the queue entirely. When navigating your Tesla to the restaurant, a notification will appear on the in-car interface asking if you want to pre-order food, displaying the entire menu. When your vehicle is within a 15-20-minute drive of the restaurant, the kitchen will automatically start preparing your meal. Upon arrival, you can choose to have your meal delivered to your car or dine in.

If you opt for dining in your car, an Optimus robot might just deliver your meal.

Next, you can plug your car into a supercharger next to the restaurant, where you can charge your vehicle while enjoying your meal and watching a movie.

The restaurant boasts 80 V4 supercharging stations, with 75 currently operational. Additionally, there's a 45-foot LED giant screen on each side of the charging area, playing short films lasting around 30 minutes, themed around science fiction to complement the restaurant's theme and the charging duration of vehicles.

Non-drivers can directly watch from the second-floor viewing platform, while drivers can synchronize any content playing on the big screen through a new sub-app called "Tesla Diner" in the Tesla Theater within their cars, available on both front and rear screens.

Currently, the restaurant operates 24 hours a day. Although it's open to all users, including non-Tesla owners, core experiences such as in-car interaction are exclusive to Tesla owners.

It's worth noting that if a vehicle stays after its battery is fully charged to 100%, Tesla will charge a restaurant congestion fee of $0.50 per minute.

Moreover, some netizens have reported that after staying at the restaurant for a day, they noticed that since it's located next to a residential area, to avoid disturbing residents, the outdoor screens are turned off between 11 PM and 8 AM.

02 The Success of This Side Venture?

The concept for this restaurant originated from a whimsical tweet by Musk in 2018, "Open a restaurant next to a supercharging station where you can eat, watch movies, and experience the future," envisioning an "old-school roller skating + rock music-style Drive-In restaurant."

Although Tesla promptly submitted the relevant building permit, the project progressed slowly thereafter. It wasn't until August 2023 that it obtained construction approval from the Los Angeles Building and Safety Department.

After seven years, this idea has finally come to fruition.

Shortly before the official opening, Musk stated that if the restaurant operates smoothly, it will be expanded along highways and even in major cities worldwide, allowing customers to experience the convenience of supercharging stations while enjoying fast food.

Beyond dining, charging, and watching movies, the newly opened Tesla Diner is more like a large-scale Tesla brand showcase.

To this end, Tesla has launched a series of exclusive peripheral products and souvenirs for the restaurant.

These include a 10:1 scale Optimus limited edition figurine, limited-edition themed vintage T-shirts, hats, and lightning-themed gummies. Even some historical Tesla items are on display in the restaurant, showcasing the iteration process of robots and the shattered glass from the initial debut of the Cybertruck.

Despite the strong commercial atmosphere and high prices of individual items, customers are still eager to pay. Some netizens have commented, "The Tesla restaurant will offer a glimpse into the future," "It feels like being on the set of Blade Runner," and "This place will become a tourist attraction in Los Angeles."

"It's like an offline gathering for Tesla fans," exclaimed one netizen, "My husband met many netizens he follows on X."

With Musk opening a restaurant, Tesla's ecosystem can be considered complete, encompassing transportation, energy, and daily life. Tesla aims to make car owners reliant on its comprehensive suite of services. Perhaps in the future, Tesla owners will consider the deliciousness of the hamburgers at a charging station when thinking about replacing their cars.

Musk is not the first to engage in such a side business aimed at fostering customer loyalty through "experiential marketing."

As early as 2016, Mercedes opened a Mercedes me experience store in Beijing's Sanlitun SOHO, integrating dining, shopping, and vehicle display. It was also aimed at establishing "touchpoints" with users' lives to cultivate brand familiarity and loyalty.

However, after just over four years, the store was closed down, primarily due to high costs and difficulties in quantifying results. Musk's Tesla Diner may also face similar challenges, with its initial popularity largely driven by users' novelty.

Judging from the current trend, will the Tesla restaurant continue to thrive?