The news: Tesla is officially in the restaurant business following the much-hyped opening of the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles. The futuristic concept could be the template for additional openings in the US as well as abroad, CEO Elon Musk said—helping the company boost brand awareness, engagement, and sales.

The rationale: Tesla is not the first company to attempt to monetize EV chargers, nor the first to launch a hospitality concept to give customers a lower-cost entry point to the brand. By combining the two, Tesla has a unique opportunity to capture more spending from its existing clientele while drawing new consumers, whether they are intrigued by the idea of popcorn-serving robots or merely in search of a quick meal.

• 7 in 10 people shop in surrounding businesses while charging their vehicles, with 80% of those customers making a purchase, per a survey conducted by Australian EV charging company JOLT.
• EV charging stations are also valuable real estate for out-of-home (OOH) ads, given the ability to geotarget consumers as well as an abundance of screens on which to show ads.

Will it work? The diner’s launch—and the accompanying wave of press and social media posts—could help reset consumers’ perceptions of the Tesla brand at a particularly tumultuous time for the company. But it could also, given the company’s increasingly polarized reputation, become a focal point for protests, which might deter would-be customers from stopping in.

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