The restaurant that Tesla is building in Los Angeles — an old-fashioned drive-in retooled for the electric-car era — now has a chef, according to a post on X by an account that shares Tesla news.
“The diner will feature a ‘1950s retro charm, dazzling neon lights, the unmistakable scent of freshly grilled burgers & hand-spun milkshakes,’” said the post, written by Sawyer Merritt on Wednesday night. It reported that the menu will be in the hands of the chef Eric Greenspan, a Los Angeles entrepreneur who has a virtual-restaurant company and a boutique brand of American cheese.
“It will be cool,” Elon Musk, the head of Tesla, commented under the post less than an hour later, appearing to confirm the news. (Neither Tesla nor Mr. Greenspan responded to requests for comment.)
The project sounded cool enough in 2018, when Mr. Musk began musing about it in a post on what was then Twitter, promising “an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant.” More recently, he elaborated that outdoor screens would show old movie clips lasting about half an hour, or the time it would take to recharge an electric vehicle in the parking lot.
Since then, Mr. Musk has made himself a figure of intense controversy by buying Twitter and rebranding it as X, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to the campaigns of Donald J. Trump and other Republican candidates, and firing thousands of federal employees as the leader of DOGE. In the past two months, protesters around the world have picketed Tesla dealerships. Vandals have targeted Tesla vehicles and locations with guns, Molotov cocktails, cans of spray paint and other devices.
In interviews, several restaurateurs and chefs said they would not work with Tesla, although some spoke anonymously for fear of retribution from Mr. Musk’s supporters. The chef and an owner of République in Los Angeles, Walter Manzke came in for intense criticism on social media last week after telling The New York Times that the diner “sounded exciting” and that his wife and business partner, Margarita, had recently expressed interest in buying a Tesla.
“We want to clarify that the quote about possibly buying a Tesla was simply about exploring electric vehicle options, not a political statement,” Mr. Manzke wrote on Instagram. “We value innovation and sustainability, and we respect all viewpoints. République does not take political stances; we are here to create a space for everyone, no matter their background or beliefs.”
Before Mr. Manzke disabled comments and then deleted the post, reactions were swift and heated, with some people saying they would not eat at République again. He has not responded to a request for comment.
According to recent job postings for the diner, Zero2One LLC will operate the restaurant. In January, Zero2One was incorporated in Delaware and registered in California in a filing that named William Chait as the company’s manager. Other job postings, since removed, listed Bill Chait as managing partner, along with Mr. Greenspan and Jeremy Brumley.
Mr. Chait is the former managing partner of Sprout LA, which Eater Los Angeles once called “L.A.’s most influential restaurant group.” Before selling the company, Mr. Chait had a stake in République, Bestia, Otium, the Rose Venice and several other restaurants in the Los Angeles area. He went on to become a partner at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, among other establishments. He did not respond to requests for comment.
Work on the Tesla diner site on Santa Monica Boulevard has been progressing rapidly, with white charging stations standing in the parking lot and furniture swaddled in moving blankets visible through the windows.
The chef, Mr. Greenspan, is the founder of Alt/Grub/Faction, an incubator for delivery-only restaurants, including 2 On A Roll and Brekkie’s Breakfast Burritos. As the culinary director of Virtual Dining Concepts, he has helped invent delivery- and pickup-only brands, including Pardon My Cheesesteak, which sells loaded fries and sandwiches on college campuses and in IHOP restaurants.
Cheese is a leitmotif in Mr. Greenspan’s career. His restaurant the Foundry on Melrose was known for a grilled cheese sandwich fortified with short ribs and apricot-caper jam before it closed in 2013. Part of that space was later reborn as Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese, now closed. He is the author of “The Great Grilled Cheese Book.”
In 2022, Mr. Greenspan began selling American cheese formulated with butter, cream and Cheddar through his company New School American. The melting orange squares that are draped over several of the burgers served at a chef’s counter by Chi Spacca in Los Angeles, partly owned by Nancy Silverton, are made by New School.
Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
