A retro-future restaurant rises on Boulevard Santa Monica in Los Angeles. Curbe, silver and flanked by two outdoor film screens, it seems that a flying saucer had left a training film from the 1950s and rest in the parking lot.
An opening date has not been announced, but the restaurant, theater and Tesla load station are clearly on the way. This means that the head of the company, Elon Musk, is about to embark on the hotel sector.
In 2023, when Mr. Musk Posted on X That Tesla would built a restaurant in the city, he described it as “Grease meets jets with supercharging”. As he has often done, he put his finger on a mature piece of major culture for reinvention – in this case, meals at the gas station in the electric cars, which need longer to recharge that it is not necessary to complete a tank – and put a visionary turn and a gee -white on it.
All made Tesla’s foray into restaurants a much more busy perspective than it seemed a short time ago.
Construction of the half-acting complex, designed by the engineering and architecture firm SantecHas moved quickly since its beginning in September 2023. Above the white charging stations which are in the paved parking lot as the tombstones are two high screens, including a request for a building permit filed in 2022 would show films duration of about half an hour, or almost the time it would take to load a vehicle. Behind the curved walls and windows of the dinner, the padded mobile covers are rolled up around what looks like circular benches. A pointed eyes observer has noticed that the The Tesla application has been updated With code for a dinner menu in January.
For several months, the company has been approaching well -known chefs on the supply of food.
When Caroline Styna and Suzanne Going, who have the Lucca group Restaurants in Los Angeles presented a Tesla investigation in 2023 with regard to the operation of the restaurant, they decided not to do so. The restaurant would not have an alcohol license, said Ms. Stynes, which made the economy difficult, and in addition: “We are not people of Drive-en-Diner.”
Ms. Styne has not changed her mind on this subject, but she sees the automaker now. Last week, she replaced her Tesla with an electric BMW.
“This person has played such a major role in everything that happens and affecting everyone’s daily life,” she said about Mr. Musk. “And it’s so crazy when you think this person was not even elected.”
Wolfgang Puck CateringWho provides chicken potpies and other foods for the annual celebration after the Oscars, was also approached by Tesla at the same time, according to a person who knows the discussions that requested anonymity in order to speak of confidential conversations. The company did not respond to a request for comments.
The project is so closely kept that the groups of restaurants must first sign a non-divulgation agreement which, among other things, prohibits the disclosure of the agreement itself, according to two people who asked for anonymity because they had signed one.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comments.
For many chefs, a prodigiously well funded company offering a chance to run an innovative restaurant which is practically guaranteed to attract attention would be a prayer responded. In the interviews, several restaurateurs said they would be interested if Tesla called.
“It seems exciting,” said chief Walter Manzke, who owns Republic In Los Angeles with his wife, Margarita. “She told me the other day that she wanted to buy a Tesla, so that I could tell you on which side she is.”
The chief based in New York, John Fraser, said that he and other people in his group, said some time ago, JF restaurantsstarted talking about food station food, a genre where they have seen the improvement.
“Whenever a location or a food style that changes the way food and drinks integrate in our lives, I want to participate,” said Fraser. “This location is likely to do so because it changes the idea of what a service station or a convenience store could be.”
While registration of Tesla vehicles in California dropped by around 12% last year, The model was still there The new best -selling car in the state. Few American cities went to Tesla as quickly and with enthusiasm as Los Angeles, where high gas prices, hot weather, awareness of the environment, local policies and the company’s advance length in electric cars conspire to make Tesla appear, sometimes, as the default car manufacturer of the city.
Early affection of the region for Tesla has inspired Shake To approach the company with a proposal before opening its first location in Los Angeles, in 2016.
“We said,” We are in the country of Tesla – why don’t we see if they wanted to put charging stations in our parking lot? ” “, Recalls Danny Meyer, who helped found Shake Shack. The electric vehicle manufacturer was not interested at the time, said Meyer.
He said that he had not been in talks on the Diner project and that he would probably not take it.
Before its restaurants concluded agreements with museums, ball fields and others, Mr. Meyer said: “We wonder if our work of art belongs to this framework.” As for Tesla, “this is not a framework that I would choose,” he said. “I could have 10 years ago because I think it had a different radiance at that time.” At the time, the brand “was all about the environment,” he said. “It seemed to be a pretty cool thing.”
Chef Paul Kahan, Hospitality In Chicago, said he would not be interested in working with Mr. Musk’s company for several reasons. “I prefer to stay out of madness and look at unity,” he said.
Many restaurateurs hesitate to express all opinion on Tesla due to combative opinions, both pro and stupid, that people now have about the company.
“I do not imagine that most of my friends say yes to that,” said chef David Chang, who lives in the County of Los Angeles. “But I could not imagine that they wanted to say it publicly either, because of the polarization on both sides.”
Some controversial problems were called the third rail of American policy. Now all of American politics is the third rail. For restaurateurs who are used to making their values on issues such as the environment and immigration, the part of the image of their business, the navigation of the cross currents of public opinion can be difficult.
Any chef with other restaurants should bring Mr. Musk’s reputation into the calculation before signing an agreement, said Max Block, founder of the Los Angeles Hospitality Communications Agency Agency Carving bench. On the other hand, a restaurant where drivers can watch a film from their charging station while eating a meal delivered by carhops on roller skates – as Mr. Musk suggested – would call on what Mr. Block called “a culture where people dine for experiences”.