Tesla Wants To Open A Charging Station For Your Mouth

FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP/Getty Images
By  Dennis Lee

Looks like Tesla's getting in the restaurant game, which is something I never thought I'd find myself saying. The electric car company filed for a new trademark under its brand for restaurant services, suggesting they'll be building out new ideas, possibly around their charging stations. Apparently they've been suggesting a foray into the space for years now. Electrek reports.

In January 2018, Elon Musk tweeted, "Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA."

But that was, well, 2018. You never know with Musk. He's got a zany reputation—the same one that landed him a hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, which is a fact I still can't quite wrap my head around. But months after that tweet, it appeared as if Tesla was going to put its money where Elon's mouth was, and the company actually applied for restaurant building permits. New building applications for the site were submitted earlier this year, but without a restaurant involved. The former Volvo dealership space was set to become one of the largest Supercharger stations in the world.

In April, Musk tweeted that the restaurant idea was still a possibility.

"Major new Supercharger station coming to Santa Monica soon!" Musk replied to a Twitter user who had photographed a long line at a charging facility. "Hoping to have 50's diner & 100 best movie clips playing too. Thanks Santa Monica city!"

So with the newly filed trademark application, it looks like the restaurant might be in our near future after all. Sounds like fun to me; I like drive-ins. I've only been in a Tesla a few times as a passenger and it was pretty nice. If I were a Tesla owner I think my main concern would be getting food all over the inside of my shiny car, but I imagine the Supercharger station would have some sort of futuristic vacuum somewhere on premises too.

It's not yet clear what kind of food the restaurant would serve, but Musk allegedly enjoys French food and barbecue. While Tesla has no current experience in the restaurant space, it could easily partner with another company to get this thing going. If there's ever a SpaceX restaurant, someone call me, because hopefully that one will serve astronaut food.

Recommended