Guardian Life & Style (US) • Jan. 6, 2026, 11:44 a.m.

<p>The novelty of eating at a diner owned by the richest person in the world seems to have worn off in just a few months</p><p>Less than six months since it opened, Elon Musk’s Tesla Diner has the feel of a ghost town. Gone is the Optimus robot serving popcorn, gone are the carnivore-diet-inspired “Epic Bacon” strips, gone are the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/26/elon-musk-tesla-diner-hollywood">hours-long, hundred-person lines</a> wrapped around the block.

Even the restaurant’s all-star chef, Eric Greenspan, is gone. The Hollywood burger-and-fries shop seems like a shell of the bustling eatery it was when it opened in late July.</p><p>On a balmy Friday afternoon in December, the parking lot for Tesla car charging was, at best, half full.

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