• The Tesla Diner’s grand opening in LA became a huge online talking point, but there were very few positive reviews. 
• Waiting in long lines, poor service coordination, and unmet expectations got most of the blame.

The Tesla Diner wasn’t just another roadside eatery. Located on Santa Monica Boulevard, this Los Angeles venture combined Tesla’s futuristic brand ethos with a nostalgic 1950s American diner aesthetic. Electric neon signs, car-side dining, and a rooftop space for Tesla drivers to watch short films while they charged. Meaning, part gimmicky, part lifestyle marketing.

The location had been teased and talked about since 2018, with Elon Musk tweeting about putting a “50s diner with roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA”.

The diner officially opened on July 21, 2025, and people showed up in large numbers. Videos and posts stormed social media: TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), and guests were excited to watch what Tesla had built – a kitchen pop culture stepping at the crossroads of tech and nostalgia.

It did not take too long for these early posts on social media to change tone. From awe, people started to feel let down. People started complaining about wait times, unfilled orders, system glitches, and even confused staff.

A Chaotic Experience Captured in Real Time

Verified Google reviews, TikTok reactions, and local media coverage confirmed what people were saying. The diner, which has over 250 seats according to publicly available data, was overwhelmed from day one.

Some patrons reported waiting over two hours just to be seated. Others claimed their food arrived cold, wrong, or not at all. The restaurant offered no reservation system, which meant first-come-first-served was the only option — a risky strategy when dealing with the kind of footfall Tesla naturally attracts.

More than one viral video showed customers lining up outside the diner with no clear queue management. Inside, service staff reportedly struggled to keep up. Screens that were supposed to streamline the ordering process froze. Waiters seemed unsure of table numbers. Orders were frequently delayed or misplaced. One popular TikTok video described a scenario of waiting two hours for a shake and never receiving the burger.

A Reddit thread under the r/TeslaMotors community chronicled similar issues. One user wrote, “It’s a cool concept, but no one had a clue what they were doing. Food runners kept bringing our table the wrong orders. At one point, we were asked if we had ordered a vegan chilli when we hadn’t ordered anything yet.”

The menu featured classic American diner fare — burgers, fries, shakes, onion rings, and vegan alternatives. Prices were considered fair for Los Angeles standards, with burgers starting around $12 and shakes at $6. But even the most affordable meals can seem overpriced if they take two hours to arrive.

Public Reaction and Data Trends

Search interest for “Tesla Diner” spiked sharply after opening. Words such as a jump of 2,300% or a status as “top 10 trending” cannot be verified by outside parties without direct access to Google Trends. Tesla Diner, meanwhile, trended high on social media. On TikTok alone, there were hundreds of videos with the hashtags #tesladiner and #teslarestaurant heretofore. The tone of reactions quickly changed from curiosity and wonder to criticism and displeasure.

As of July 30, 2025, it has grossed, on average, 2.8 ratings across Yelp and Google Reviews. While specific numbers, such as 61% indicating wait times, 48% pointing to delays in food, and 35% complaining about the ordering system, are a bit difficult to ascertain without being privy to the entire review database, these categories reflect the dominant themes that attract customer feedback.

Some reviewers liked the ambience and aesthetics, but they stood in a small minority compared to the disgruntled customers.

Local outlets like the Los Angeles Times described the diner as “a vision of retro-future dining with modern-day tech bugs”. Fast Company called it “a study in how brand excitement doesn’t always match customer satisfaction.”

Tesla Responds, Briefly

The article previously stated Elon Musk had not commented on the diner since the opening. That is inaccurate. On July 24, 2025, Musk tweeted, “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. An island of good food, good vibes & entertainment, all while supercharging!”

While the tweet didn’t address complaints directly or outline specific fixes, it did show optimism for the concept’s future. Musk’s earlier tweet on July 14 showed a preview of the diner’s menu. There has been no formal apology or comprehensive improvement plan from Tesla’s official channels.

Will the Tesla Diner Get a Second Chance?

No official announcements have been made about structural changes or relaunches. The diner remains open and continues to operate on a walk-in-only basis. Anecdotal accounts suggest that at least two new staff members were brought on midweek after the launch, but many patrons feel the core issues remain unresolved.

The Tesla Diner Experiment is still generating buzz, with fans ready to give it a chance and critics sharing their frustrating experiences. The aesthetics fulfil the nostalgic feel; however, the customer experience has so far failed to rise to the hype.

Until operations improve and some level of communication with the public is achieved, the Tesla Diner might still continue to remain a social media curiosity rather than an actual dining destination.