--- title: "The Tesla Diner Is Already Falling Apart Under Mismanagement" description: "Tesla, a company known for making cars that malfunction and fall apart, is apparently faring no better at building a working restaurant. " date: "2025-08-08" modified: "2025-08-08" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/tesla-diner-falling-apart" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "elon musk" - "restaurants" - "tesla" - "tesla diner" --- # The Tesla Diner Is Already Falling Apart Under Mismanagement ![Tesla, a company known for making cars that malfunction and fall apart, is apparently faring no better at building a working restaurant. ]() *Los Angeles, CA - July 19: A Tesla robot makes popcorn at the opening of the Tesla Supercharger Diner on Saturday, July 19, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) \Image: Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images\* Tesla, a company known for making electric vehicles that regularly [malfunction]() and [fall apart](), is apparently faring no better at operating a working restaurant. Between its [amply peeved neighbors](), a woman being [brained by a patio covering]() on its opening week, and [protests]() against owner Elon Musk's other activities, the Tesla diner was already drawing all the wrong kind of attention — and then, it seemingly halved its menu out of nowhere. As [*Eater* reports](), Musk's [foray into food service]() now has a new problem: many of the Tesla Diner's [mind-bogglingly expensive menu items]() — including the so-called "Epic Bacon," which [ran $12]() for four overcooked slices — are no longer being sold. Indeed, a quick perusal of the [Tesla Diner's official website]() now shows three sandwiches, one burger, a hot dog, and two sides — the Wagyu chili and some sad-looking fries — as its savory offerings, and either pecan or apple pie for sweet treats. Gone are the biscuits and "red gravy," whatever that was, club sandwiches, market salads, hash brown bites, cinnamon rolls, soft serve, milkshakes, and many other "[American food]()" staples that Tesla's South Africa-born and Canada-raised owner thought people wanted to pay for. Along with the hemming-in of its menu, the retro-futuristic-looking diner and EV charging station [glowering over Santa Monica Boulevard]() also seems to have already broken other promises. Despite avowals of being open all day and night long, the [*New York Times* found]() that only people who drive Teslas and order on their cars' computerized consoles can do so between midnight and 6 AM — and only on the diner's premises, because the remote ordering system currently isn't working. In an interview conducted over text message, Tesla Diner chef Eric Greenspan didn't provide *Eater* with any reasons for the downgraded menu or apparent system glitches. Instead, he maintained that the restaurant's menu would be "forever evolving," and the reduced offerings are the result of "unprecedented demand." He added that the milkshakes would be back soon, and that he expects biscuits to return as a special "sooner rather than later" — though notably, he didn't mention anything about the red gravy. With [Tesla's stock]() bearing the brunt of its owner's [bad business decisions]() and [even worse politics](), there was perhaps room for its eponymous diner to be a balm in a desert of crap. Instead, it's just another example of Musk's hubristic side projects — and one that doesn't even offer the Epic Bacon anymore. **More on Tesla:** [*Lawyer Who Defeated Tesla in Court Posts "Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" by Geto Boys*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()