Struggling to sell EVs, Tesla pivots to slinging burgers
theregister.com
theregister.com
You can also see the construction on Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/7001+Santa+Monica+Blvd,+We...
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
[2] https://youtu.be/1iijVmH74jc?feature=shared
[3] https://www.wired.com/1999/06/metreon-the-entertainment-mall
[4] https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/sony-rethinking-oper...
[5] https://sophiasmith.medium.com/the-original-sony-metreon-was...
[6] https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/Requiem-for-Sony-M...
[7] https://www.emerging-strategy.com/how-elon-musks-politics-ar...
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.
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.
https://eu-evs.com/marketShare/ALL/Groups/Line/All-time-by-Q...
Europeans don't want swasticars.
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)
https://buc-ees.com/locations/?_sft_wpsl_store_category=tesl...
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-partnership-wi...
(love buc-ees, charge there whenever I can)
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?
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?
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).
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.
It’s interesting there is no non-EV parking. Will they tow you?
I have many reasons to criticize Elon, but it might be the rare useful idea in this case.
shameless clickbait