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Elon Musk’s vision for his long-touted Tesla electric vehicle charging station that doubles as a drive-in movie theater — a “Grease meets the Jetsons” concept — is closer to becoming a reality.
A metallic, sphere-like retro diner has risen in the heart of Los Angeles — not far from the Sunset Strip and iconic Route 66 — that will serve as hub for those looking to fill up their bellies while charging up their cars.
The charging station is part of the electric vehicle industry’s efforts to re-imagine gas stations by turning them into a multi-faceted experience.
While Tesla has said little publicly about the venue, documents that were submitted to city officials show that the movie screens will feature short films that last no more than 30 minutes, which is roughly the time it takes to fully charge an electric vehicle.
When construction is compete, it will boast two movie screens and around 30 EV supercharging stations, as well as a restaurant with rooftop-seating that will be open 24 hours a day.
In recent months, Tesla has obtained permits for installing plumbing, an elevator and parking lot reconfiguration.
It is unclear when the diner-charging station-drive-in will open, but recent images from the site on Santa Monica Boulevard show that progress is afoot.
A glance at LinkedIn shows that Tesla is moving to staff the diner with “experience specialists” that would help screen movies and serve food.
Tesla is offering a salary of as much as $285,000 to a “pre-opening” program developer, according to Bloomberg News.
The idea for the venue was first proposed by Musk in 2018, when he wrote on X about his ambition to build an old-school drive-in movie theater next to a diner at one of his Supercharger locations.
“Major new Supercharger station coming to Santa Monica soon! Hoping to have 50’s diner & 100 best movie clips playing too. Thanks Santa Monica city!” Musk tweeted in April 2021.
Los Angeles city officials gave approval last year for the facility to be built.
Tesla provided the public with a sneak peek of its plans when it shared an official rendering during the company’s 2023 investor day last March. The presentation slide was titled, “Can’t forget to do cool s—t.”
Separately, architect Ed Howard has shared his own unaffiliated concept art on X showcasing how a Tesla diner and drive-in might look.
Tesla stock rose by more than 20% on Thursday and continued its winning streak on Friday after Musk told investors that he anticipates significant growth in deliveries this coming fiscal year.
Tesla also said it expects fourth-quarter deliveries to surpass 515,000 vehicles – or 25,000 more than what analysts predicted.
