Tesla’s new Hollywood diner got off to a bumpy start, with visitors complaining of long queues, hopeless staff, and “soggy” food.
The futuristic take on a 50s-style restaurant, officially called Tesla Diner and Drive-In Restaurant and Supercharger, on Santa Monica Blvd, opened officially at 4:20 p.m. on Monday, a nod to Tesla CEO’s obsession with the number 420, which is linked to marijuana smoking.
Star Trek played on two giant 45-foot LED screens outdoors, as staff worked alongside the company’s humanoid robot, Optimus, delivering burgers with tallow-fried French fries, a wagyu beef chili cup, and an option dubbed “epic bacon.”
But while the prices were hailed as fair, the quality of the food was called into question on Musk’s very own social media site, X. Fellow tech CEO Noah Aron visited the restaurant on its grand opening and complained that the “burgers and sandwiches were pretty awful.”
“The staff was flustered, and it was quite chaotic in the kitchen,” he added, saying he expects that it will improve with time.
“That is a soggy, soggy sandwich, ugh,” he moaned in an accompanying clip, showing the fried chicken and waffle sandwich. “There’s no flavor,” his friend, who was dining on a burger, complained.
Another X user said that despite the diner being “a cool spot,” he could not overlook the general disarray. “Tesla Diner is really cool spot but we waited for 2 hours to eat something in there. Customer service is too bad,” he said.
“They were not organized at all. They don’t have answers for many questions and they have no idea what’s going on in there.”
Another visitor, who showed up at 2 a.m. after crowds had subsided, said he loved the vibe, but complained that the food was lacking. “Unfortunately 6/10 food,” he wrote on X.
“I came with high hopes, but this was one of the worst burger I’ve ever had in my life. The fries were so overcooked too.”
Others complained that there were no plant-based options on the menu. “Tried to go with the family. The absence of plant based options in a city like Los Angeles is crazy.
“Even the avocado toast has eggs in the bread and the fries are cooked in beef. Had to pass unfortunately,” one man said.
Tallow, an animal fat, has been championed as an alternative to seed oils for frying food by conspiracy-obsessed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The damning reviews come after Tesla, and Musk himself, had boasted that its ingredients are locally sourced and top quality.
But it wasn’t just the food that was the issue at the diner, which has on-site EV charging stations for Teslas in the parking lot. One visitor claimed that Tesla drivers were causing problems at the restaurant, which welcomes the public, regardless of whether they have one of Musk’s electric vehicles. “We wait 2 hours for nothing!” one man wrote on X.
“The experience is dead. When a Tesla owner shows up at the last minute and cuts in front of everyone who waited in the blazing sun. Many of us ended up leaving...”
Musk had been desperately plugging the grand opening on X, right up until the doors swung open. “Try it out. Aiming to be a fun experience for all, whether Tesla owners or not,” he pleaded in one post. “Will keep improving.”
However, Tesla stocks began to dip right after the diner opened. “Since the Tesla diner opened its doors to the public, $tsla is down $1.57,” one shareholder complained. The stock price continued to slide, and it sat at $328.90, from $327.92, when the tweet was posted. There is no suggestion that the diner caused this slump.
To add insult to injury, even Musk’s very own artificial intelligence bot, Grok, agreed that issues beset the opening night.
Asked by the Daily Beast if it was a “flop,” the bot said, “it was not a flop in the sense that it failed entirely.”
It did, however, admit that it “had significant flaws, particularly with food quality and service.”
“The term ‘flop’ might be too strong, but it was certainly not a smooth launch,” it added.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
