Elon Musk, the disruptive force in the auto industry as well as space travel, had an idea back in 2018. Besides his mega start-ups making electric cars and rockets, he wanted to open an American diner – the sort of place Malaysians would remember of the original A&W drive-in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
He was still about 3 years from being the richest man in the world but was already well known for his adventurous ideas. The Tesla Supercharger network, which had spread across America since being set up in 2012, seemed to him like a good place to try out the idea. After all, owners of his electric cars would be parked and waiting for charging to complete so why not also offer them food and drink?
Application rejected initially
The idea reached planning stage for a Supercharger site in Los Angeles to include a diner, but the local authorities in Santa Monica didn’t give approval. So the idea couldn’t go further and just the Superchargers were set up.
Now that project is back and this time, approvals have been obtained and the location is in the West Hollywood area of Los Angeles on a site which used to have a Shakey’s Pizza restaurant. The application is for a ‘Restaurant, drive-in theatre and DC-fast charging station’.
What it will look like
Tesla hasn’t issued any images or details officially, but sharp-eyed observers spotted an image of a diner during the company’s 2023 Investor Day presentation. This was flashed on the screen during the part about Tesla’s charging technology and network.
Ed Howard (@HowardModels) is among the people who has come out with some visuals using information available from the building plans submitted by Stantec, the architects.
Back in February this year, Musk mentioned that the design will be ‘retro-futuristic’ and Howard’s design follows this theme which is also similar to that image at the Investor Day presentation. The building has 2 floors with indoor dining as well as drive-in service which is probably quite nice since the driver can wait in the car.
Howard’s visuals show two large screens which, presumably, will provide some sort of entertainment for the drivers and their friends while the cars are being charged. It won’t be a cinema as such since the idea would not be to keep people on-site too long so there would probably be short clips of about 30 minutes.
24-hour operation with 32 Superchargers
The application is for 24-hour operation at the outlet which will have at least 32 Superchargers as well as Destination Chargers (wall-mounted chargers which have AC supply).
Howard also suggests a name for the diner which is ‘Milliways’. Those who have read ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ will know that name as it is on the restaurant at the end of the universe.
Opening later this year
The opening date has not been announced although early in August, Musk said this in one of his posts on X: “Our Tesla futuristic diner (Grease meets The Jetsons with Supercharging) in LA should be ready later this year.”