A number of months in the past, Tesla dealerships in a number of Western states had been underneath assault from gunfire and arson in response to firm proprietor Elon Musk’s position in reelecting President Donald Trump after which engaged on his behalf to dismantle a slew of federal authorities companies. Now, in his personal try to Make America Nice Once more, he’s opened the primary retro-minded Tesla Diner in Hollywood, the place the road is hours-long across the clock.
The world’s richest man first publicly floated this nostalgia play in a 2018 tweet — earlier than his hard-right political flip, earlier than his buy of Twitter and earlier than he decamped from his Los Angeles house base for Texas. This predated Hollywood liberals’ widespread rejection of him, typically by both dumping their Teslas or else affixing bumper stickers to guarantee fellow motorists “I Purchased This Earlier than Elon Went Loopy.”
On this approach the Tesla Diner is each a utopic throwback to L.A.’s midcentury automobile hops with their roller-skating waitresses (Mel’s, Tiny Naylor’s, Bob’s Large Boy) in addition to a remembrance of the more moderen previous. A time during which Musk — who dated celebrities together with Amber Heard and lived in Gene Wilder’s former Bel-Air house — was a neighborhood hero to early-adopter Tesla devotees like George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio, not simply propelling the inexperienced agenda along with his pioneering electrical automobile agency however reviving the area’s status as an aerospace chief along with his SpaceX.
Ostensibly, the aim of this prototype Tesla Diner alongside Santa Monica Blvd. simply east of La Brea Ave., conceived on the aesthetic intersection of an Apple retailer and Disney’s Tomorrowland by the corporate’s automotive designer Franz von Holzhausen, is to be a hangout for drivers and their passengers whereas filling up on the Supercharger stations within the car parking zone. However like loads of retail within the Web period, it’s actually about what entrepreneurs discuss with as experiential engagement. The burger and fries are MacGuffins, mere excuses for a spectacular model activation.
Nonetheless, the burgers and fries had been — in its chaotic opening days — higher than must be anticipated of a company gimmick. That is possible as a result of Musk and his staff, who should have realized that operating a profitable high-traffic hospitality operation could be tougher than even rocket science, had the nice sense of hiring a succesful native restaurateur in Invoice Chait. His lengthy resume contains Brief Order, Nancy Silverton’s late and lamented Americana spot.
Tesla’s Optimus robotic serving popcorn on the diner’s rooftop.
Gary Baum
Underneath Chait, the Tesla Diner is sourcing its substances from native farmers. The perfect-in-show tuna soften options wild-caught albacore between slices of grilled Tartine buttermilk bread and the Wagyu beef chili on the menu is a collaboration with RC Provisions, who additionally provide the lauded pastrami for Langer’s Delicatessen.
The restaurant’s decisions, it must be famous, are heterodox. Paper straws and wooden utensils come commonplace. In the meantime, the fries make use of RFK Jr.-approved tallow, and there’s notably no concessions to guests who’re gluten-free.
None of this issues to the demo of Musk cultists, wide-eyed vacationers and all-purpose pattern chasers who’re sport for ready three hours in line. For them, their order means inclusion in a client variant on the Present Factor — inclusive of entry to the diner’s rooftop, the place Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robotic could be discovered handing out popcorn to view American Graffiti, projected on a pair of drive-in huge screens throughout the car parking zone.
