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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Now that the Model Y Juniper refresh has officially been announced in the Asia-Pacific markets, the initial vehicles from Giga Shanghai are starting to make their way to showrooms throughout the region.
And that means lots of new pictures. Let’s take a look at some of the latest close-up shots of the 2025 Model Y.
Light Bar Close-Up
Our first up-close look at the new front end of the new Model Y. This car is likely en route to a showroom prior to the start of Tesla’s big sales push for the Chinese Lunar New Year, and this is one of the closest and cleanest shots of the new front end.
The sharp new front of the Juniper
@DriveGreen80167 on X
The new front light bar is very visible, even when it’s off. It’s more than a thin strip of lights. The headlights are located directly below the light bar at either end. You can also see the new squared-away sharp lines - starting from the lightbar gaps and going up the hood. The new design looks far more aggressive and sharp when viewed at this angle.
Wheels
And the new wheels are pretty interesting, too - especially since they don’t seem to have full aero covers on them. We’re wondering if Tesla intends to introduce aero covers for these wheels later - or if they’ll just stay uncovered. They look pretty good - but the black hubcap in the center stands out against the rest of the wheel. Time will tell whether the clean black finish holds up with use.
We're a big fan of these new fan-blade wheels
@DriveGreen80167 on X
Either way, they’re pretty good looking - but we’d prefer to see them in an all black finish - similar to the Shadow Gemini’s that are currently available. Hopefully, once the Model Y refresh arrives in North America and Europe, that option will be available in addition to the Crossflow wheels.
Video
One of the first videos showing off some of the new Model Y features.
The refreshed Model Y also brings a ton of changes to the interior. In addition to the Launch Edition exclusive dash, we also get a good shot of the new ventilated seats, as well as the return of the turn signal stalk.
The best interior shot we've seen so far
@DriveGreen80167 on X
The new Model Y also has the same new center console as the Model 3 Highland - with the two-part slider. For now, it seems like the Launch Edition will include rubber pedal covers - nothing fancy like the metallic ones available on the Performance variants yet.
Rear End Close-Up
On the rear end of the vehicle, we get a close-up view of the new reflective light bar. Tesla claims this is an industry-first, and it does look very cool. The actual light is located on the inside edge of the piece that overhangs the reflective portion. The reflective portion itself is painted to match the vehicle - and isn’t a glossy surface, but rather matte.
Gotta love that new reflective light bar
@DriveGreen80167 on X
In the next image, we can also see that the rear camera is mounted in a new location. It doesn’t have the camera lip that the 2024 Model Y has been shipping with, as the camera is now mounted on the very edge of the new raised bumper. This also means the camera is much higher up than it previously was. This location change likely means that the new Y will require some additional training time for both FSD and Actually Smart Summon, as well as the new front bumper camera.
This is going to be an interesting change - we’re not sure how this new camera location will handle snow, rain, and road muck, but this is likely the main reason for it being moved up and away from the road.
The updated camera positioning is noticeably higher
@zhongwen2005 on X
We’re excited to see the new Model Y in person. This refresh has been a long time coming and there are many details that are still waiting to be discovered.
Customer deliveries are supposed to begin in just a couple of months - May at the earliest - in the Asia-Pacific region. We’re hoping to see the refresh arrive in Europe and North America by summertime and then see the launch of the Performance variant shortly thereafter.
A rendering of what the Tesla app may look like with the Tesla Diner added
Not a Tesla App
Tesla has been planning to create its own drive-in diner with Superchargers since at least 2022, when it filed paperwork for the one-of-kind supercharger location. In 2023, Tesla’s then Senior Director of Charging Infrastructure, Rebecca Tinucci, said during a presentation that you "can't forget to do cool s***."
The slide presentation showed off an illustration of a retro-looking Tesla Diner restaurant with a rooftop patio and an old-school drive-in movie screen behind it. People could be seen lining up to get inside, hinting that whatever the restaurant serves is worth the wait.
Since then, Tesla has begun and practically completed the construction of its Tesla Diner project. The location includes two 45-foot outdoor LED screens that will play short films, and it’ll also serve food up to 77 guests while their vehicle is being charged.
As the completion of the diner approaches, Tesla has now revealed several other bits of information in the latest Tesla app update. Thanks to a decompile by Tesla app iOS, we see that Tesla’s diner will closely tie in with the Tesla app itself.
Integrated With the Tesla App
Several phrases were found in Tesla’s latest app update, which includes things like show_diner, Diner Home Screen, profile_settings_diner_description, and View menu & amenities. It sounds like you’ll be able to view the diner’s menu directly from the Tesla app, but if we had to guess, there will be a lot more to it than that.
Following Tesla’s seamless integration with Superchargers, we expect the diner experience to be similar. You may soon be able to order food directly from the app and have it charged automatically to your card on file, letting you skip the payment portion completely.
Since Tesla knows which Supercharger stall you’re connected to, we also expect Tesla to take full advantage of this and bring the food directly to your vehicle without you needing to specify your location. So imagine this, you’ll pull up to a Supercharger and plug it in.
Tesla Diner UI
An image was also found in the app update that hints at where the Tesla Diner options will be located. The image found is the same ratio and similar size to other images found in the main menu of the Tesla app. In addition, the phrase “profile_settings_diner_description” could be the string used for the text that will show up in this menu. Since this menu is used to guide users to Tesla pillars such as products, charging, referrals and more, we expect the diner menu to only show up if you’re geographically near the Tesla diner.
What’s round and shiny but still not yet open? Tesla diner
Supercharger stalls, landscaping, and more are already in place at the Tesla Diner. The fact that Tesla is now including code related to the diner in the Tesla app indicates that Tesla may be ready to open up the diner to the public very soon.
For now, the location remains quiet, but it will soon become a 24-hour diner with a steady flow of traffic as Tesla owners visit to enjoy a unique charging and dining experience.
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