Elon Musk opened a diner in Hollywood. What could go wrong? I went to find out

[cbabe]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/26/elon-musk-tesla-diner-hollywood

Elon Musk opened a diner in Hollywood. What could go wrong? I went to find out

The tech billionaire’s ‘retro-futuristic’ drive-in and Tesla charging station has long lines, plenty of glitches – and adoring fans

Lois Beckett in Los Angeles
Sat 26 Jul 2025 07.00 EDT

It was just before lunchtime on its third day of operation, and the line outside Elon Musk’s new Tesla Diner in Hollywood already stretched to nearly 100 people. The restaurant has been billed as a “retro-futuristic” drive-in where you can grab a high-end burger and watch classic films on giant screens, all while charging your Tesla.

…

During a Tesla earnings call on Wednesday, as the company disclosed declining revenue and profits, Musk highlighted his new burger palace as a success: “Diners don’t typically get headline news around Earth,” he bragged. He also called the diner “a shiny beacon of hope in an otherwise sort-of bleak urban landscape”. (It is located on Santa Monica Boulevard, in a neighborhood full of high-end art galleries.)

I’d had plenty of time in the diner line to think about “retro-futuristic” experiences, and how good a description that was, not so much for this very ordinary diner, but for the rightwing political project that Musk had joined. We were now moving into a future that offered tank-like electric cars and on-demand drone deliveries, and also a resurgence of measles outbreaks and women dying from preventable pregnancy-related complications.

But continuing to function in the United States right now requires being very good at compartmentalization. I tucked away the cardboard Cybertruck lids to show my co-workers, threw away the Tesla waffles, and went on with my day. Nothing works properly here any more, but hey, it’s an experience.

//