We ate at Elon’s new Tesla Diner in LA: here are 10 things we learned

The concept of a retro-futuristic Tesla Diner, with fast food and a drive-in movie theatre, was first floated by Musk back in 2018. In news that will surprise no one, the project was delayed, eventually opening in July 2025 on a corner of Santa Monica Boulevard in LA, looking like something from The Jetsons, surrounded by 80 supercharger spots and two vast LED screens playing classic movies on loop. 

Of course, this being Tesla, the launch and inevitable teething problems (cold food, huge queues, tech issues) were reported in minute detail. We decided to wait a few weeks – let the staff find their groove – before paying it a visit. Here’s what we learned.

Photography: Huck Mountain

Who doesn’t like a little live percussion and rhythmical vocals to help wash down their meaty treat? We could hear it a block away – a troop of enthusiastic protestors waving ‘swasti-truck’ placards, one wearing a smoking Cybertruck costume complete with Musk mask and another banging a drum and singing an ear worm of a chant – something about Donald Trump and a Cybertruck.

According to exhausted-looking residents we spoke to who live opposite, it’s a show you can set your watch by – 4 to 8pm every Friday and Saturday evening. While amusingly chaotic with cars beeping and the picket line yelling, it was a reminder that the Elon backlash and Tesla’s crash in popularity is in full swing.

Our Toyota Rav 4 rental was NFI to park on site - we had to find a spot on the kerb down the road, like bloody second-class citizens. Needless to say you’ll get the most out of the experience if you turn up in a Tesla – not just because you can supercharge while you eat, but because the audio from the big screens is streamed into your car, and you can order from the car and have your food brought out by servers on rollerskates.

At least, that was the original pitch – we didn’t see anyone on rollerskates, we were told the in-car audio was playing up, and that in-car ordering was glitching too, so diners were being encouraged to park up and walk in. Which means joining the line…

We rocked up at 7pm on a Sunday night and the slightly baffling two-stage queue was only about 10 minutes long before we were through the doors. There were reports of 2-3hr waits in the days immediately after the opening, which is just clearly potty, and also slightly worrying for Tesla if interest has tailed off this sharply.

You order and pay on a slick iPad interface as you walk in, grab your drinks at the first station then make your way to the far end of the counter to collect your food on a tray – another 10-minute wait. Not bad.

We paid $69 for two burgers, two fries, two milkshakes and a slice of pecan pie – again, not outrageous for LA, but still a bit of a stinger. We headed up in the elevator to the ‘Skydeck’ to eat: the curved stairs were closed due to people with trays crashing into each other with alarming regularity, at which point the steps become a helter-skelter.

The recently slimmed-down menu consists of a burger, hot-dog, tuna melt and grilled cheese sandwich, chips and drinks. I was braced for the smash burger to be limp and underwhelming, and was pleasantly surprised with the soft bun, crispy edges and tangy sauce. Chips were crispy and hot too. I just realised we never got our pecan pie.

The other things missing were the Cybertruck-shaped burger boxes I’d seen all over the internet. They’ve either run out, or decided they were crap because it was generic white cartons for us. Booo.

Still, if you want souvenirs, the merch counter on the Skydeck is more than happy to sell you lightning bolt salt and pepper shakers for $65, a $95 hoodie or a tin of gummies for $35. Given his penchant for weed, the fact it’s now legal in California and the price, I honestly thought these were THC-infused… but was assured they weren’t. I wasn’t prepared to spend $35, and risk spending my evening eating Cheetos, to find out.

Yes you can watch a movie while you munch – although the speakers on the balcony were drowned out by the drums banging down in the street. The screen felt more like window dressing than something customers might actually watch… better to enjoy the view.

Move around to the back of the deck, look north up Orange Drive and there framed perfectly between the buildings is the Hollywood sign. Well done, you just ticked two tourist spots off your to-do list in one fell swoop.

This isn't it, obviously.

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but it felt a bit dialled in. The staff – understandable, given they have to listen to chants about their boss being the devil all day – didn’t look particularly pleased to be there. The food was good, not great, but good burgers aren’t hard to come by in LA for a lot less and are served without the side-order of politics and guilt.

And all the touches that could make it a genuinely memorable experience - car-side servers on skates, Optimus robot serving popcorn (this did happen but only on opening night) - were absent. We came, we saw, we filled our bellies, we won’t be going back… unless we need a supercharger. You can skip the rest.