4 ms·

Struggling to sell EVs, Tesla pivots to slinging burgers

29 points by beardyw 1y ago

onlyrealcuzzo 1y ago
I thought this was an April Fools joke, but it's on the Tesla website: https://www.tesla.com/tesla-diner https://www.tesla.com/tesla-diner You can also see the construction on Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/7001+Santa+Monica+Blvd,+West+Hollywood,+CA+90038/@34.0907687,-118.3420962,3a,75y,45.51h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sRnjskRzJNodKsVN6SeaRSg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3DRnjskRzJNodKsVN6SeaRSg%26yaw%3D45.51334!7i16384!8i8192!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x80c2bf29157a65e1:0x9373401bdebe10c6!2s7001+Santa+Monica+Blvd,+West+Hollywood,+CA+90038!3b1!8m2!3d34.0909057!4d-118.3418573!16s%2Fg%2F11c21cjyd5!3m5!1s0x80c2bf29157a65e1:0x9373401bdebe10c6!8m2!3d34.0909057!4d-118.3418573!16s%2Fg%2F11c21cjyd5?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDcxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D https://www.google.com/maps/place/7001+Santa+Monica+Blvd,+We...
- dvh 1y ago
  Some time ago on April 1st, VW Australia published article about their project "roobadge" , a machine learning, satellite tech, ultrasonic, active, kangaroo collision prevention gadget, it's still on their site, even the promo video looked kinda dodgy. I'm still not sure if it's real or not.
  - bobnarizes 1y ago
    Found the promotional video https://youtu.be/W9klRlKoEQk https://youtu.be/W9klRlKoEQk
yabones 1y ago
It's amazing - they're re-inventing the gas station with a White Castle from first principles. Maybe they'll build a Tesla Buccees with a thousand superchargers and a gift shop next. Innovation is back, everybody!
- scherlock 1y ago
  They are going to innovate servers on electric roller skates to deliver the food right to your car.
- com2kid 1y ago
  This is already the business model for chargers in other countries. Heck long haul truck stops have used this model for decades. Figure that super chargers are mostly for people on road trips who have just driven 3+ hours, this makes perfect sense. The only strange part is that is hasn't been tried earlier, though I imagine a certain critical mass is needed for it to be viable. (A good friend of mine runs a successful startup in another country following a similar business model)
- toomuchtodo 1y ago
  Buc-ees have Superchargers, Tesla has had a partnership with them since 2021. https://buc-ees.com/locations/?_sft_wpsl_store_category=tesla_supercharger https://buc-ees.com/locations/?_sft_wpsl_store_category=tesl... https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-partnership-with-buc-ees-26-new-locations.247032/ https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-partnership-wi... (love buc-ees, charge there whenever I can)
V__ 1y ago
It seems like the whole stock market is just becoming an “attention meter”. Don't look at the numbers... look a diner, stock goes up.
nytesky 1y ago
They are using beef tallow for the fries, which is a good development. It’s interesting there is no non-EV parking. Will they tow you?
- rini17 1y ago
  Is the tallow circulated as a supercharger cooling medium? That would be some innovation.
mywittyname 1y ago
I'm surprised they didn't take the approach of setting up ghost kitchens to sell crappy food on the various delivery apps which are delivered by Teslas. Get some Saudi funding for it and shovel the money into predatory loans to "owner-operator" drivers.
JumpCrisscross 1y ago
“Tesla Diner welcomes those who don't own Tesla vehicles and is willing to charge cars manufactured by anyone whose ports are compatible with Tesla's charging cables. No EV means no parking in the diner's lot, though - gas-guzzlers will need to use street parking or a nearby garage, according to Tesla's FAQ page for the diner.” Honestly, this is a good look. It’s messaging EV superiority, something we’ve lacked under this administration. But it isn’t being a dick by prioritising Teslas. It’s a playful, low-stakes branding move. I’d have added minor servicing options, à la the Apple Store, or maybe more accurately the IKEA cafeteria, but I’m not sure this move per se deserves the heat.
- EA-3167 1y ago
  Unfortunately for Tesla their look, their brand, and the associations of being "very into Tesla" are quite tainted by Elon Musk. What his association with Trump couldn't do, his double Hitlergruß managed effortlessly, and the precipitous drop in sales after that showed. The hellscape that X/Twitter has become sure doesn't help either. I think this is a good idea that would have worked before the brand was this tainted, but now it feels like it's naturally going to attract the specific sort who don't mind being visibly associated with that taint.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- breve 1y ago
  Musk has done too much brand damage for anything Tesla to look good for a while to come. Tesla's market share loss in Europe corresponds with Musk interfering in European politics and his fascist salutes: https://eu-evs.com/marketShare/ALL/Groups/Line/All-time-by-Quarters https://eu-evs.com/marketShare/ALL/Groups/Line/All-time-by-Q... Europeans don't want swasticars.
tzs 1y ago
> Seating for 250 people is available in the Tesla Diner's first and open-air second floor. The Register is British. I thought Brits would call those the ground floor and first floor. Are they following US conventions in this story because the diner is in the US, or what?
cogman10 1y ago
The layout of this diner is so weird and with both close spaces and limited seating while having a pretty huge footprint and a parking lot for 80->300 people. Not to mention the fact that a large portion of it's capacity is outdoors on the top level. The video showed the diner with (as I counted) around 30 or 40 people in it. I have to wonder, like, WTF is going on with the giant amount of reserved center space on that diner? It looks like they allocated like 10% of the space for actual eaters and 90% for everything from fridges to bathrooms to kitchens. Do they really need all that space for those things?
- Jtsummers 1y ago
  > limited seating while having a pretty huge footprint and a parking lot for 80->300 people The seating capacity, per this article and Tesla's site, is 250. That fits if the parking lot can hold 80-300 people (80 EVs, 1-4 people per).
- __initbrian__ 1y ago
  It looks more like an event space than a diner optimized for patrons
xnx 1y ago
There are a lot of reasons to criticize Tesla and musk but opening a retro futuristic Jetsons nostalgic concept diner seems fine. Much better use of marketing dollars than another dumb commercial or billboard.
- soganess 1y ago
  Agreed! Which stinks, because it seems fun, if a bit boring aesthetically. If Tesla were still seen as culturally aspirational (or optimistic) like turn‑of‑the‑millennium Sony was[1,2,3], a retro‑futurist space serving primarily as a PR campaign could attract both better press and loads of visitors. Even though the Metreon project ultimately failed financially[4], people initially came in the millions because they wanted to experience Sony’s vision of the future[5,6]. Tesla’s inability to generate even a modicum of enthusiasm (instead sparking ridicule) is telling; sure the company’s goodwill has eroded, but more importantly so has its social cachet[7]. Said another way: people are no longer interested in inhabiting a future envisioned by Tesla/Elon. [1] https://youtu.be/i3-3dvgYt7c?feature=shared&t=129 https://youtu.be/i3-3dvgYt7c?feature=shared&t=129 [2] https://youtu.be/1iijVmH74jc?feature=shared https://youtu.be/1iijVmH74jc?feature=shared [3] https://www.wired.com/1999/06/metreon-the-entertainment-mall https://www.wired.com/1999/06/metreon-the-entertainment-mall [4] https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/sony-rethinking-operation-of-troubled-metreon-2842705.php https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/sony-rethinking-oper... [5] https://sophiasmith.medium.com/the-original-sony-metreon-was-a-mall-of-the-future-76586d6c11d9 https://sophiasmith.medium.com/the-original-sony-metreon-was... [6] https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/Requiem-for-Sony-Metreon-San-Francisco-s-14118088.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/Requiem-for-Sony-M... [7] https://www.emerging-strategy.com/how-elon-musks-politics-are-reshaping-teslas-brand-and-customer-base/?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.emerging-strategy.com/how-elon-musks-politics-ar...
- Zigurd 1y ago
  It points out that Tesla's evaluation remains insane. One diner is now part of a justification for a valuation that is five times that of McDonalds.
yrcyrc 1y ago
Remember. Mc Donald’s are not in the Burger business.
Mr_Eri_Atlov 1y ago
Investing in infrastructure to provide an oasis with food and drink while a car recharges is a solid idea. I have many reasons to criticize Elon, but it might be the rare useful idea in this case.
tzs 1y ago
I don't see any mention of this on their site, but they probably could not have picked a location with better symbolism. It's on what was once part of the historic US Route 66, one of the most famous and important motorways in US history. It was often called the "Main Street of America" or "The Mother Road". During the Dust Bowl in the '30s it carried hundreds of thousands of people migrated westward to escape the devastation from the drought. It connected rural and urban communities from Chicago to Los Angeles, helping small towns thrive by bringing commerce and tourists. The need to provide services to all those people led to the creation of many roadside attractions and businesses, which was the birth of the American roadside culture with quirky attractions, motels, diners, and a spirit of adventure and road tripping. McDonalds started next to it. It became a symbol of mobility and freedom. It's been featured in song and film. The Tesla diner is just the sort of kind of odd thing that would have been right at home on Route 66.
KevinMS 1y ago
> pivots shameless clickbait

29 points by beardyw 1y ago

I thought this was an April Fools joke, but it's on the Tesla website: https://www.tesla.com/tesla-diner https://www.tesla.com/tesla-diner You can also see the construction on Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/7001+Santa+Monica+Blvd,+West+Hollywood,+CA+90038/@34.0907687,-118.3420962,3a,75y,45.51h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sRnjskRzJNodKsVN6SeaRSg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3DRnjskRzJNodKsVN6SeaRSg%26yaw%3D45.51334!7i16384!8i8192!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x80c2bf29157a65e1:0x9373401bdebe10c6!2s7001+Santa+Monica+Blvd,+West+Hollywood,+CA+90038!3b1!8m2!3d34.0909057!4d-118.3418573!16s%2Fg%2F11c21cjyd5!3m5!1s0x80c2bf29157a65e1:0x9373401bdebe10c6!8m2!3d34.0909057!4d-118.3418573!16s%2Fg%2F11c21cjyd5?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDcxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D https://www.google.com/maps/place/7001+Santa+Monica+Blvd,+We...

dvh 1y ago
Some time ago on April 1st, VW Australia published article about their project "roobadge" , a machine learning, satellite tech, ultrasonic, active, kangaroo collision prevention gadget, it's still on their site, even the promo video looked kinda dodgy. I'm still not sure if it's real or not.
- bobnarizes 1y ago
  Found the promotional video https://youtu.be/W9klRlKoEQk https://youtu.be/W9klRlKoEQk

yabones 1y ago

It's amazing - they're re-inventing the gas station with a White Castle from first principles. Maybe they'll build a Tesla Buccees with a thousand superchargers and a gift shop next. Innovation is back, everybody!

scherlock 1y ago
They are going to innovate servers on electric roller skates to deliver the food right to your car.
com2kid 1y ago
This is already the business model for chargers in other countries. Heck long haul truck stops have used this model for decades. Figure that super chargers are mostly for people on road trips who have just driven 3+ hours, this makes perfect sense. The only strange part is that is hasn't been tried earlier, though I imagine a certain critical mass is needed for it to be viable. (A good friend of mine runs a successful startup in another country following a similar business model)
toomuchtodo 1y ago
Buc-ees have Superchargers, Tesla has had a partnership with them since 2021. https://buc-ees.com/locations/?_sft_wpsl_store_category=tesla_supercharger https://buc-ees.com/locations/?_sft_wpsl_store_category=tesl... https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-partnership-with-buc-ees-26-new-locations.247032/ https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-partnership-wi... (love buc-ees, charge there whenever I can)

V__ 1y ago

It seems like the whole stock market is just becoming an “attention meter”. Don't look at the numbers... look a diner, stock goes up.

nytesky 1y ago

They are using beef tallow for the fries, which is a good development. It’s interesting there is no non-EV parking. Will they tow you?

rini17 1y ago
Is the tallow circulated as a supercharger cooling medium? That would be some innovation.

mywittyname 1y ago

I'm surprised they didn't take the approach of setting up ghost kitchens to sell crappy food on the various delivery apps which are delivered by Teslas. Get some Saudi funding for it and shovel the money into predatory loans to "owner-operator" drivers.

JumpCrisscross 1y ago

“Tesla Diner welcomes those who don't own Tesla vehicles and is willing to charge cars manufactured by anyone whose ports are compatible with Tesla's charging cables. No EV means no parking in the diner's lot, though - gas-guzzlers will need to use street parking or a nearby garage, according to Tesla's FAQ page for the diner.” Honestly, this is a good look. It’s messaging EV superiority, something we’ve lacked under this administration. But it isn’t being a dick by prioritising Teslas. It’s a playful, low-stakes branding move. I’d have added minor servicing options, à la the Apple Store, or maybe more accurately the IKEA cafeteria, but I’m not sure this move per se deserves the heat.

EA-3167 1y ago
Unfortunately for Tesla their look, their brand, and the associations of being "very into Tesla" are quite tainted by Elon Musk. What his association with Trump couldn't do, his double Hitlergruß managed effortlessly, and the precipitous drop in sales after that showed. The hellscape that X/Twitter has become sure doesn't help either. I think this is a good idea that would have worked before the brand was this tainted, but now it feels like it's naturally going to attract the specific sort who don't mind being visibly associated with that taint.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
breve 1y ago
Musk has done too much brand damage for anything Tesla to look good for a while to come. Tesla's market share loss in Europe corresponds with Musk interfering in European politics and his fascist salutes: https://eu-evs.com/marketShare/ALL/Groups/Line/All-time-by-Quarters https://eu-evs.com/marketShare/ALL/Groups/Line/All-time-by-Q... Europeans don't want swasticars.

tzs 1y ago

> Seating for 250 people is available in the Tesla Diner's first and open-air second floor. The Register is British. I thought Brits would call those the ground floor and first floor. Are they following US conventions in this story because the diner is in the US, or what?

cogman10 1y ago

The layout of this diner is so weird and with both close spaces and limited seating while having a pretty huge footprint and a parking lot for 80->300 people. Not to mention the fact that a large portion of it's capacity is outdoors on the top level. The video showed the diner with (as I counted) around 30 or 40 people in it. I have to wonder, like, WTF is going on with the giant amount of reserved center space on that diner? It looks like they allocated like 10% of the space for actual eaters and 90% for everything from fridges to bathrooms to kitchens. Do they really need all that space for those things?

Jtsummers 1y ago
> limited seating while having a pretty huge footprint and a parking lot for 80->300 people The seating capacity, per this article and Tesla's site, is 250. That fits if the parking lot can hold 80-300 people (80 EVs, 1-4 people per).
__initbrian__ 1y ago
It looks more like an event space than a diner optimized for patrons

xnx 1y ago

There are a lot of reasons to criticize Tesla and musk but opening a retro futuristic Jetsons nostalgic concept diner seems fine. Much better use of marketing dollars than another dumb commercial or billboard.

soganess 1y ago
Agreed! Which stinks, because it seems fun, if a bit boring aesthetically. If Tesla were still seen as culturally aspirational (or optimistic) like turn‑of‑the‑millennium Sony was[1,2,3], a retro‑futurist space serving primarily as a PR campaign could attract both better press and loads of visitors. Even though the Metreon project ultimately failed financially[4], people initially came in the millions because they wanted to experience Sony’s vision of the future[5,6]. Tesla’s inability to generate even a modicum of enthusiasm (instead sparking ridicule) is telling; sure the company’s goodwill has eroded, but more importantly so has its social cachet[7]. Said another way: people are no longer interested in inhabiting a future envisioned by Tesla/Elon. [1] https://youtu.be/i3-3dvgYt7c?feature=shared&t=129 https://youtu.be/i3-3dvgYt7c?feature=shared&t=129 [2] https://youtu.be/1iijVmH74jc?feature=shared https://youtu.be/1iijVmH74jc?feature=shared [3] https://www.wired.com/1999/06/metreon-the-entertainment-mall https://www.wired.com/1999/06/metreon-the-entertainment-mall [4] https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/sony-rethinking-operation-of-troubled-metreon-2842705.php https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/sony-rethinking-oper... [5] https://sophiasmith.medium.com/the-original-sony-metreon-was-a-mall-of-the-future-76586d6c11d9 https://sophiasmith.medium.com/the-original-sony-metreon-was... [6] https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/Requiem-for-Sony-Metreon-San-Francisco-s-14118088.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/Requiem-for-Sony-M... [7] https://www.emerging-strategy.com/how-elon-musks-politics-are-reshaping-teslas-brand-and-customer-base/?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.emerging-strategy.com/how-elon-musks-politics-ar...
Zigurd 1y ago
It points out that Tesla's evaluation remains insane. One diner is now part of a justification for a valuation that is five times that of McDonalds.

yrcyrc 1y ago

Remember. Mc Donald’s are not in the Burger business.

Mr_Eri_Atlov 1y ago

Investing in infrastructure to provide an oasis with food and drink while a car recharges is a solid idea. I have many reasons to criticize Elon, but it might be the rare useful idea in this case.

tzs 1y ago

I don't see any mention of this on their site, but they probably could not have picked a location with better symbolism. It's on what was once part of the historic US Route 66, one of the most famous and important motorways in US history. It was often called the "Main Street of America" or "The Mother Road". During the Dust Bowl in the '30s it carried hundreds of thousands of people migrated westward to escape the devastation from the drought. It connected rural and urban communities from Chicago to Los Angeles, helping small towns thrive by bringing commerce and tourists. The need to provide services to all those people led to the creation of many roadside attractions and businesses, which was the birth of the American roadside culture with quirky attractions, motels, diners, and a spirit of adventure and road tripping. McDonalds started next to it. It became a symbol of mobility and freedom. It's been featured in song and film. The Tesla diner is just the sort of kind of odd thing that would have been right at home on Route 66.

KevinMS 1y ago

> pivots shameless clickbait