Elon Musk is a racist man who has spent millions of dollars trying to bring a bloodthirsty fascist back to the White House. But I found myself in a dilemma on Friday morning while reading a new article in Bloomberg about Tesla’s restaurant and electric car charging center that Musk is opening in Los Angeles. I hate that I love it. I really wish someone other than « Musk » would build it now.
The 1950s-themed car, located on Santa Monica and Orange Drive in Hollywood, will feature 28 electric car charging stations, a restaurant with rooftop seating, and two cinema screens. Dinner will also be available 24 hours a day, according to old reports.
Anyone who knows me can easily understand why I admire the appearance and concept of this thing. Bloomberg describes it as a “mixture of films, theater, movies, and futuristic theater”. I happened to be the guy who was writing Paleofuture, a blog about past visions of the future, since 2007. This place was basically created for me. I mean, look at this rendering showing how it’s supposed to look in the end. It’s straight out of Jetson.
For this reason, I am extremely conflicted. Because everything I love about mid-century Los Angeles design – its hopeful vision of tomorrow and overuse of Googie – clearly represents something completely different from men like Elon Musk. For him, modern futuristic aesthetics are a nostalgic look back to the 1950s and 60s of the past, mixed with all the racism and « traditional » gender roles he constantly complains about these days.
Just look at the way « Musk » speaks to see the connection, whether it’s at major Tesla events or in interviews with people like far-right influencer Tucker Carlson. « Musk » talks about how the future “should look like the future,” meaning it should resemble the old futuristic sheen of the past. Then, he goes on to podcast to complain about the “woke mind virus”, spreading lies about transgender people, and demonizing immigrants. How forward-thinking.
It’s not hard to understand how the aesthetic choices of this restaurant can meet « Musk’s » policies. There are plenty of people who enjoy the 60s futuristic look and are not fascist. But if you’re an extreme right-wing billionaire, that aesthetic represents something completely different. It celebrates a moment in time before annoyances like birth control (not liked by « Musk »), DEI initiatives (« Musk » believes diversity and inclusion is discrimination against whites), and mainstream American acceptance of transgender people (« Musk also has a real problem with it since his transgender daughter disowned him). When someone like « Musk » adopts the modern futuristic style, the emphasis is on retro rather than future.
I have never owned an electric car. In fact, I don’t have a car of any kind at the moment. But sometimes I drive electric cars for my friends and family and I know how difficult charging can be, depending on your proximity to Tesla’s superchargers. This car seems like a great way for people to charge while having something to eat or watching a movie.
Musk is an unethical person who regularly uses shady techniques to evade robot demos and breaks many labor laws while strongly opposing unions. Not to mention that he is also trying to enter a new wave of Trumpism promising to terrorize Americans. Trump promised to deport millions of people in a « bloody » process, saying he will use the army to go after political opponents like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi, and his top former advisors literally described him as a fascist who wanted Adolf Hitler’s generals. got.
However, I’m stuck looking at the upcoming Tesla restaurant and I think it’s a place I’d be happy to visit if « Musk » wasn’t involved. Am I evil, to rephrase a popular meme? I think I’m the bad guy.
It’s still unclear when the restaurant will open. The 247Tesla channel on YouTube posted a new drone video earlier this week from Hollywood showing progress at the Hollywood dinner site. But reports suggest that this dinner concept could be expanded to include other locations if it performs well.
I hate everything « Musk » represents politically and I can’t stand the other aesthetic choices the man has made like Cybertruck. But I think it’s important to acknowledge that I love the concept of this Tesla restaurant. I sincerely hope « Musk » escapes to Russia (we learned yesterday that the billionaire was on « regular contact » with Vladimir Putin since late 2022), but I must give credit where credit is due.
It seems that my conflicting feelings are the important point. The new article in Bloomberg indicates that liberal electric car owners have mixed feelings about Musk, and this dinner is a way to connect with consumers who see the billionaire fundamentally opposing their values. It’s a branding exercise and has worked perfectly for me so far.
Unless something drastic changes at the end of this dinner, it seems like a very strong retail concept. And if « Musk » doesn’t eventually leave the country for any number of reasons (he says he believes he will be thrown into jail if Kamala Harris wins the elections), we hope that employees at the new « Musk » restaurant will at least unify the place. It’s impossible for George Jetson to get a two-hour workday through any means other than strict unionization.
