Tesla's Innovative 24-Hour Diner and Drive-In Concept Gains Approval

Tesla receives approval for its Diner and Drive-In

Tesla

A futuristic blend of entertainment and electric vehicle charging is coming to Hollywood as Tesla gains significant approvals for its state-of-the-art Diner and Drive-In Supercharger project.

According to documents revealed by Teslarati from the LA Department of Building and Safety, Tesla has won permit approval for its Diner and Drive-In Movie Supercharger in Los Angeles. This unique project aims to offer Tesla owners and the public a dining and movie experience while charging their electric vehicles.

Project Background: An Experience Beyond Charging

Elon Musk has hinted at the idea for several years, and the planned facility now has a confirmed location at 7001 W. Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood. Featuring 32 Supercharger stalls, two screens for movie clips, and a rooftop-seating restaurant, this entertainment hub marks a new era in EV charging experiences.

Originally planned for Santa Monica, the location shift to Hollywood seems more fitting for the glamorous concept. Eight months after Tesla submitted the applications in November 2022, Los Angeles approved the plan.

A Glimpse into the Future: Tesla's Investor Day Revelation

During Tesla's recent Investor Day, Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla's Senior Director of Charging Infrastructure, offered attendees a sneak peek into the company's visionary plans. Presenting an intriguing slide titled "Can't Forget to Do Cool S***," Tinucci unveiled an illustration that brought Tesla's creative concept to life.

The slide featured a retro-looking Tesla Diner restaurant with a rooftop patio and an old-school drive-in movie screen behind it. The captivating image excited those present and provided a tangible vision of what Tesla's new Supercharger site could look like.

From 24/7 charging and dining to scheduled movie programming, Tesla is set to make waiting for a charge an enjoyable event. With bamboo landscaping and carhop service options, the new location promises a blend of nostalgia and novelty.

Approvals and Progress: On the Road to Reality

After several evaluations, Tesla received the green light for various construction phases. On July 18, the company secured approval for grading the area, building walls, and constructing movie screens.

The initial grading inspection on August 9 was approved, paving the way for Tesla to move forward with this visionary project. Stantec Architecture, based in Chandler, Arizona, is listed as the project’s architect, with PCL Construction Services Inc. out of Glendale, California, handling the contracting.

The Tesla Supercharger Network: More Than Just Charging

While Tesla's Supercharger Network is already the most expansive globally, this new addition brings a creative twist. The changing dynamics of charging technology have reduced customers' time at charging stations, but the desire for unique experiences remains.

Tesla is now offering more than a place to charge by introducing this new concept. As the company looks to enhance the EV owner's experience, the Diner and Drive-In Supercharger may become one of Tesla's most captivating stops.

Tesla's ambitious project showcases the company's forward-thinking approach and promises to redefine how people perceive electric vehicle charging. By marrying technology with leisure, the Hollywood Diner and Drive-In Supercharger site will likely become a landmark for Tesla owners and entertainment enthusiasts.

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Teslas Will Soon Park Themselves When Arriving at Destination - Smarter Summon and Driverless Autopark Coming

With the Spring Update and FSD V12.4 around the corner, Elon Musk shared that Actually Smart Summon and Banish (Autopark) are coming soon, along with some other updates to the new vision-based Auto Park.

FSD to Automatically Park at Destination

On FSD v12.3.6, which now includes the new Vision-based Autopark for vehicles with ultrasonic sensors, users have to manually search for and select a parking spot if they want to use Autopark. However, according to a post from Musk, FSD will automatically enter Autopark mode upon arriving at its destination. This will essentially combine the current FSD capabilities with Autopark and add the ability for the vehicle to traverse a parking lot looking for an empty space.

Banish Autopark Coming Soon

Smarter Summon and Banish Autopark, with the ability to send the car to and from a parking space without anyone in the car, will be coming soon, as per Musk’s recent X post. 

Banish Autopark, previously known as Reverse Summon, is expected to include various parking options, such as “closest to the door”, “near cart returns”, or “end of the parking lot”. This would drop the owner off at the entrance to a location while having the vehicle automatically find a parking spot and then park itself. At least that is Tesla’s full vision, as Musk has talked about before. It’s not clear whether the Banish Autopark feature, will actually include all of these capabilities in v1, or if Tesla will slowly add more features to it. What we know now is that Tesla is working on having the vehicle park itself without a driver inside. It may simply be an extension of the Autopark we have today, where the driver finds a parking spot, selects it, and then exits the vehicle as it parks itself. This could be exceptionally useful for parking in tight spaces.

Actually Smart Summon Coming to Vehicles Without USS

Smarter Summon on the other hand, is an update to the existing Smart Summon functionality that is currently available on cars that have ultrasonic sensors (USS). Actually Smart Summon is expected to bring that functionality to Vision-only cars as well.

In traditional Tesla fashion, Tesla is building upon what it already has. Tesla first released Summon, which allowed the vehicle to move only forward or backward in a straight line. Tesla then released Smart Summon which allowed the vehicle to move toward a target, navigating obstacles on the way, and soon we’ll have an even more capable version of Smart Summon.

Release Date

Musk has previously mentioned that upcoming updates to FSD V12, will have various focuses on improvements. V12.4 will focus on user comfort, while v12.5 will focus on more complex scenarios.

These next two major FSD versions will probably take us to the end of the year. Banish Autopark will probably be arriving closer to v12.4 as a comfort improvement, while Actually Smart Summon, which relies upon the ability to reverse, may arrive in FSD V12.5.

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Tesla Vehicles on 2024.8 Are Now Receiving FSD V12 With Update 2024.14.6

Tesla has finally issued an update that will give owners on Tesla update 2024.8.x access to FSD v12. Yesterday Tesla released update 2024.14.6, which includes FSD v12.3.6, the latest version of FSD. FSD v12 is also available on update 2024.14.5, however this release appears to have stopped going out. FSD v12.3.6 is the same version that FSD owners have with update 2024.3.25.

Updating to FSD v12

FSD v12 was previously based on branch 2024.3, and since Tesla doesn't allow vehicles to roll back in software versions, it meant that FSD v12 was only available to vehicles on update 2024.2 or older. This became an issue for vehicles already on update 2024.8.x, which included FSD v11.

FSD Trial

FSD v12 came with a free one-month trial which started going out last month, however, vehicles on 2024.8.x weren’t eligible for FSD v12 and therefore weren’t eligible for the free trial. With update 2024.14.6, these vehicles will finally be eligible for FSD v12 and should receive their one-month trial of the software.

Rollout

The rollout has just started, so in typical Tesla fashion, it'll slowly roll out to more and more vehicles. 2024.14.6 has so far only been released in the U.S. and appears to focus on getting users onto FSD v12. It's currently available to about 1% of the Tesla fleet. Keep a close eye on our 2024.14.6 rollout statistics page to see when new waves go out.

Vehicles Already on FSD v12

For vehicles already on FSD v12 with update 2024.3.25, they’re also eligible for this update, which won’t include any improvements to FSD, but it’ll include the vast amount of new features in update 2024.14, as well as the features that were on update 2024.8 that they’re skipping over.

These vehicles will receive access to 2024.8 features such as one-time charge limits, ultra-wideband phone key support for the new Model S and Model X, and various undocumented changes such as updated turn signal icons, new WiFi and Bluetooth menus and more.

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