LOS ANGELES—Crowds basked in the vintage vibes mixed with futuristic flair as Tesla opened its first diner-charging location combo in Hollywood on July 21.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk managed to bring a bit of spark back to Tinseltown as the mix of good food, fun, and super-fast charging drew thousands of initial customers, with many saying they liked what they saw.

“I love it,” said Thor Laewe, 52, of Los Angeles. “It’s sort of future and retro at the same time.”

Laewe ordered burgers, fries, yogurt, and apple pie á la mode for himself and his son, Brandon Laewe, 14, from his Tesla as they drove to the diner July 22.

“We just pulled in, plugged in, and the food was already ordered,” Laewe told The Epoch Times. “When I came in, they called my name out and it was ready.”

The burger was old-school and “really good,” he said.

“I liked the food a lot,” Brandon said. “The burger was the best, and I really liked the apple pie. You need to try it, for sure.”

Tesla announced the surprise opening at 4:20 p.m.

“There should be more things like this,” Musk posted on X later as the lot filled with diners seeking to get their first taste of the new experience that night.

Lines snaked around the building again on the diner’s second day as people waited to order off the simple yet flavorful—and locally sourced—menu of smashed burgers, tacos, pies, tallow-fried fries, ice-cream floats, maple-glazed bacon, and other selections.

Located at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Orange Drive, the all-night Tesla Diner is open seven days a week.

Besides flavorful grub, it offers electric vehicle owners a bank of solar-powered fast-charging stations along with a unique experience.

A man at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on July 22, 2025. (Jill McLaughlin/The Epoch Times)

The round, two-story silver and gray eatery resembles a next-generation sky port from “The Jetsons” with its UFO-shaped layers. The diner offers inside dining and places to eat outside on the top deck, giving patrons a chance to watch movies and other entertainment on two 66-foot-tall outdoor LED movie screens.

An Optimus robot was also put to work serving popcorn and even a few fist bumps—before staff imposed a “no-contact” rule.

An Optimus robot serves popcorn at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on July 22, 2025. (Jill McLaughlin/The Epoch Times)

“The location offers 80 V4 supercharger stalls that are open to all compatible electric vehicles, making it the largest urban supercharger in the world,” the company stated in an X post on the day it opened.

Solar canopies also offer shade to a charging lot on the west side of the location, helping reduce the site’s carbon emissions and making charging more sustainable, according to Tesla.

Teslas fill the charging stations at the new Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on July 22, 2025. (Jill McLaughlin/The Epoch Times)

The diner can seat more than 250 people. Although the line to order was long, it moved at a good pace.

Tesla hired longtime Los Angeles chef Eric Greenspan to create the menu inspired by American diner classics, offering small bites and full meals.

The selections included burgers, chili, chicken and waffles, sandwiches, all-day breakfast, sides, desserts, shakes, Kombucha, coffee beverages, and “charged sodas,” which are reimagined classic fountain drinks with a kick of green coffee extract and ginseng.

Food is packaged in paper Cybertruck boxes at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on July 22, 2025. (Jill McLaughlin/The Epoch Times)

The diner uses responsibly sourced, sustainable local products for the menu items, listing the local farms and artisanal suppliers on the menu.

The items include fries cooked in beef tallow that can come smothered in chili, cheese, or both. Breakfast dishes are made with organic eggs from pasture-raised chickens fed all-vegetable grains. The Kombucha uses all-raw and real organic ingredients and is made in Oceanside, California. The beef for the smashed burgers is sourced from Holstein cows in Calipatria, California, and cheese used in the dishes comes from aged cheddar, real cream, and real butter without preservatives or fillers.

Adding to the charm, food is packaged in Cybertruck boxes, and drinks are served with wooden straws.

Customers also won’t be pressured to tip servers. The company will pay 20 percent of total sales as a gratuity to its staff of 140, according to Eater.

Louis and Vanessa Rodriguez, visitors from Texas, liked the experience.

“I thought it was cool,” Louis Rodriguez told The Epoch Times. “The look of the place was cool. I think the food was OK.”

His wife said that the food was mediocre but that the experience was worth it.

The Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on July 22, 2025. (Jill McLaughlin/The Epoch Times)

Musk said the Hollywood diner could be the first of many across the country.

“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,” Must posted on X on the diner’s opening day.

“An island of good food, good vibes [and] entertainment, all while Supercharging!”