As a native Angelino, I’ve seen my city survive many crises. When the Dodgers won the World Series, we stood tall in the ashes left in the wake of our celebration, just as tall as we did when Pokémon Go compelled a raft of citizens to aimlessly walk our city and do no work for weeks.
The latest fad that has befallen my beloved city is a combination futuristic diner and charging station, simply called the Tesla Diner.
As InsideEVs has no staff writers in Los Angeles, I—a gas-car-driving writer and video creator for its sister site, Motor1—was quickly conscripted for the task. But have no fear, InsideEVs reader; I'm certainly not against progress. And even I know that EV drivers need great charging options, with an ample amount of plugs and things to eat (and bathrooms to use) while their cars juice up.
Can the Tesla Diner be such an option? On paper, it sounds pretty spectacular. You get a 1950s retrofuture vibe, 75 Supercharger stalls, and there are also robots. Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that if it's successful enough, the company could add them all over the world (though he says a lot of things.)
In reality, the Tesla Diner is as hyped up as a Cybertruck in 2019. And that means that, for now at least, it may be too packed to deliver on its promise.
Reports of 11-hour-long lines, mediocre food, and completely full charging stalls haven’t deterred people from poking their heads out and seeing what the hype is about. When I arrived three days after opening, the crowd was substantial, with a line easily 100 people long. A dozen EVs, mostly Tesla cars, waited for one of 80 charging stalls. Suffice to say, it was a total shitshow.
I didn’t get the chance to try the food, as it would’ve taken too long and we have a trusted correspondent trying the food for a separate piece. Instead, my cameraman and I pivoted to conducting street interviews, which most folks denied. But with a few biters, some exploration, and some time, we pieced the sentiment behind the Tesla Diner together. To find out, you’ll just have to watch our video above.
