Tesla’s Retro Diner Sparks Buzz in LA: Burgers, Big Screens, and Bitter Neighbors
Elon’s latest venture serves up nostalgia—with a side of chaos.
Silicon Valley meets soda fountains
Tesla’s 1950s-themed diner isn’t just flipping patties—it’s flipping off urban planning norms. Neon lights clash with angry homeowners as crypto bros livestream milkshakes to their Telegram groups.
Big screens, bigger ambitions
Wall-to-wall displays tout Dogecoin prices between burger specials—because nothing says 'disruption' like pairing a Teslaquiri with 24/7 market charts. Local officials mutter about zoning violations while influencers queue for the 'CyberFries' NFT promotion.
The real price tag? Neighborhood goodwill.
Residents complain about midnight rocket exhaust smells (from the grill or the SpaceX lot next door—who knows). Meanwhile, TSLA shareholders shrug—at least it’s not another 'funding secured' tweet.
Tesla Optimus robot serving popcorn. Image: Jason Nelson/Decrypt
Tesla Diner & Supercharger in Hollywood, LA
Open 24/7, starting now pic.twitter.com/nISRNoV89Y
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 21, 2025
The menu firmly adheres to the Americana tradition, featuring “Tesla Burger” cheeseburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken and waffles, fries, cinnamon rolls, and biscuits and gravy. There’s plenty of Tesla-branded merchandise, too.
The diner is cashless and currently does not accept any crypto despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s professed love of Dogecoin.
Reactions were mixed on prices, if not the food. “It was good but expensive,” said one diner. Another added, “We came last night and wanted to come back for more.”
The flashy venue straddles an industrial zone and a residential neighborhood, and, with all the hubbub plus the fact that the place is open 24/7, not all the locals were thrilled. “It doesn’t go with the neighborhood at all,” one passerby said. “It's just more gentrification.”
The influx of traffic has caused headaches, with strip mall congestion and near-accidents as rubberneckers slow to take in the spectacle.
Two 66-foot-tall LED screens didn’t help, one of which now blocks views from nearby apartment balconies owned by South Park Group, Inc.
South Park Group did not respond to requests for comment by Decrypt.
Tesla cars beneath an LED screen. Image: Jason Nelson/Decrypt“A lot of our tenants have complained about the screens,” a groundskeeper admitted. “It WOULD have been better if they only had the one screen so tenants could enjoy the ambience.”
Well, the traffic will surely die down as more locations open up—something Musk has suggested might occur.
“If our retro-futuristic diner turns out well, which I think it will, Tesla will establish these in major cities around the world, as well as at Supercharger sites on long-distance routes,” he wrote on X.
Because nothing says “sustainable future” like a Tesla Burger at 3 a.m. and a 66-foot screen utterly obliterating your view of the world.
