Latest news with #futuristic
WIRED
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- WIRED
A $17 Hotdog and a Humanoid Robot Serving Popcorn: WIRED's Day at the Tesla Diner
Jul 23, 2025 5:00 PM WIRED stopped by the new Tesla Diner in Hollywood to try a $17 hotdog, watch a humanoid serve popcorn, and talk to people who still stan Elon Musk. Renuka Veerasingam believes Elon Musk is humanity's last hope. 'I want to go to Mars, and he is going to take us,' she says. 'Space is the final frontier. It's in our DNA to find the final frontier—to keep going until we get to the edge.' Though Veerasingam is lightyears from Mars, she is currently on the edge of Santa Monica Boulevard and North Orange Drive, in the heart of Hollywood, for the opening of the new Tesla Diner, modeled in the likeness of the same kind of retro-futuristic space station she one day dreams of inhabiting on the red planet. An actress who lives in Toluca Lace, Veerasingam wanted to see Musk's latest window into the future up close. Every one of the 200-plus people assembled have their reason for coming, many seemingly curious to find out what the seemingly Midas touch of Musk has to offer on a Tuesday afternoon in July. Musk first announced his plans for the diner in 2018 on Twitter—before he bought the company and rebranded it as X—saying that he wanted to 'put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA.' So far this is the only location, but he has plans to expand to other cities if it's successful. PHOTOGRAPH: ETHAN NOAH ROY PHOTOGRAPH: ETHAN NOAH ROY That vision came to life at exactly 4:20 pm Monday, a cherished stoner reference of Musk's and one that probably peaked when he was still in college. WIRED's photographer, Ethan Noah Roy, was there when the doors opened, meeting a man who had dedicated the last 13 years of his life to work at Tesla with the sole purpose of meeting Musk. 'That has yet to happen,' he said. I arrive in the middle of the lunch rush, around 1 pm the following day, with some 80 other people waiting to get in. In the parking lot, there are 80 v4 Supercharger stalls— 'the largest urban Supercharger in the world,' according to Tesla—and two 45-foot movie screens that showed a selection of movies, TV clips, and Tesla ads. Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation play as servers on rollerskates hand out free ice cream to people waiting in line. For now, parking only accommodates Teslas and other EVs. Customers with gas-powered cars were instructed by security to park on the street. After 30 minutes of light conversation—'He makes himself hard to like,' one young woman, who asks not to be identified, says of Musk—I make it inside. PHOTOGRAPH: ETHAN NOAH ROY Despite being advised to get the burger and apple pie, I opt for a hotdog, fries, a salad, and the creamsicle instead, totaling $40.61—and am directed to the pick-up counter, where even more people are waiting for their number to be called. The aesthetic inside the diner is 'very modern, very Jetsons,' says local Joseph Macken, referring to the 1962 cartoon about a family living in a futuristic utopia with flying cars and a robot maid. (Veerasingam loves the bathrooms 'because it's really like you are in a capsule,' on a spaceship, 'looking at earth looking down at you.') But much of it is very typical of an American diner: curved white booths and a long countertop that peers into the behind the countertop, chef Eric Greenspan woofs orders to staff, calling out numbers and making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. If you've ever watched an episode of The Bear you know the clattering from the belly of the kitchen well. There's a brute choreography to everything happening—loud, constant, unblinking. Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' blares from the speakers. Everyone has their phones out recording, snapping photos, set on capturing a moment and finding meaning in it. Greenspan notices a look of irritation on a customer's face. 'I appreciate your patience. There are TV screens outside—or is this enough of a show for you?' he says. 'Enjoy it for the spectacle that it is. By next week it'll be a regular restaurant.' PHOTOGRAPH: ETHAN NOAH ROY PHOTOGRAPH: ETHAN NOAH ROY Greenspan is something of a local legend in LA, famed for his tenure at The Foundry on Melrose and, depending on what side of town you're on, is known for making the best grilled cheese in the city. He also helped open Mr. Beast Burger—yes, that Mr. Beast—where he put a unique spin on American comfort food. That's exactly what you'll find at the Tesla diner. The fare is red, white, and blue to the core, with a few twists: tuna melts, club sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, chicken tenders, all-day breakfast, Wagyu beef chili, and—of course, because it's a Greenspan operation after all—grilled cheese on Tartine buttermilk bread. Fusing the nostalgia of a McDonald's Happy Meal with the gloss of Tesla branding, food is served in Cybertruck boxes with Cybertruck-shaped wooden forks. Every part of the experience is a reminder of—and an opportunity to sell—the Tesla ethos. 'I think this might be the new spot,' says Xavier Hardy, a realtor and DJ, who orders the chicken and waffles, and raves about the black pepper mayo sauce it came with. 'I saw that the diner is 24 hours. I feel everyone is going to come here after events, clubs. All the celebs will probably be here. I'm surprised no other car companies have thought of this before. And the food isn't too expensive either.' I mention to Hardy that the hot dog—which has a rubbery texture and taste—costs $17 dollars. 'For some people, that's nothing though,' he says. Terence Sampson, a therapist from Long Beach, tagged along with Hardy for the day. 'I don't have a Tesla but I want a Cybertruck,' he says. 'They're super futuristic but also simple. They're sleek. Energy efficient. They are the iPhones of cars.' I ask what they think of Musk. 'I don't like him,' Sampson says. 'He's a great business man and innovative, but I work for the government, so when he was with Trump and all of that stuff—nah. I like this Elon, not the one that was sending emails to our job. Not him.' Sampson tells me he works for the Department of Veteran Affairs. In January, newly appointed to the Trump administration, Musk sent an email to federal employees asking them 'to resign by February 6 if they do not wish to return to the office five days a week and commit to a culture of excellence,' WIRED reported. The following month, another investigation by WIRED found that federal government workers were told to email the Office of Personnel Management with 'approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week' or they would be terminated. LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 21: Aerial view of the Tesla Diner and Drive-In restaurant and Supercharger on July 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The futuristic Tesla Diner and supercharger station boasting a drive-in experience for drivers opened in Hollywood this Monday. (Photo by I RYU/VCG via Getty Images) PHOTOGRAPH: GETTY IMAGES Many of the people I speak with agree that Musk's personal politics are questionable but that his business acumen as an innovator can not be questioned. Ralph N., a software engineer traveling through LA with his sons for a water polo tournament stopped at the diner to charge his Tesla before driving back to San Francisco. 'I was a fan of his until about two years ago, when he went crazy. I am kind of on the fence now.' He's owns the Model 3 since it first came out seven years ago, and later bought a second Tesla, the Model Y. 'I am a fan of the stuff that he makes. He used to be a cool engineer to follow, but he got political the last couple of years and alienated a bunch of people. I'm not super happy about that.' On the second floor is the 'Skypad,' a deck that wraps around the entire building. There's table seating, hillside views of Los Angeles, and a bar, where employees sell Tesla merch. A giddy crowd gathers around the popcorn machine, where a humanoid robot—eerily reminiscent of the ones in the movie I, Robot —waves to onlookers and serves popcorn. 'Elon definitely snapped,' Jamel Bullock says, conveying a compliment of high praise, a cultural colloquialism. A Silverlake-based design creative who works in fashion and tech, Bullock bought a Model 3 only a couple of months ago, but considers it 'the best car of all time .' Overall, he says the diner experience is what LA needs and will make for a great date spot. 'Now, if it stays this loud, it might suck for them,' he says, pointing to the apartment complex across the street, where people gawk at the spectacle from their balconies. 'Regardless of how you feel about it, though, it's just cool overall.' Umut, who came with a friend and asked that his last name not be printed for privacy concerns, heard about the opening on X Tuesday morning. He bought a Model Y a year ago and says he has endured some backlash for it since Musk's public favor has waned. 'I see a lot of people with those stickers saying I used to drive this before Elon went crazy. I'm not like that. I have my own opinion but I don't think it's right to do that. It does feel a little weird to be honest. My friends make jokes about it sometimes—'Oh, you're driving a Tesla.' It's a car at the end of the day. It serves me well.' PHOTOGRAPH: ETHAN NOAH ROY PHOTOGRAPH: ETHAN NOAH ROY What's to love about the Tesla diner? Outside of the offering of superchargers, there doesn't seem much replay value. Many people complain of long wait times—my own food takes 40 minutes to arrive—and though it's good, it isn't anything you can't get at other diners, like Mel's or Clark Street, across the city. The sun finally comes out as Veerasingam waits for her food on the deck. 'This is a MAGA diner. Why do I say that—literally you have a menu telling you how everything is made,' she says, and I don't know exactly what she means. 'I didn't even know cheese is not real. Did you see that?' On the menu, Greenspan has detailed many of the ingredients he uses, most of them sourced from local farmers and brands, including Brandt beef ('from the Holstein cows of Brandt Cattle of Calipatria, CA'), flour tortillas ('made with heritage organic drought resistant wheat'), Bakers Bacon ('heritage bred pork and natural apple wood smoke'), and a kind of cheese called New School American ('made from aged cheddar, real cream and real butter without phosphates, starches, acids or fillers'). PHOTOGRAPH: ETHAN NOAH ROY Since the late 80s, Veerasingam suggests, too many artificial preservatives have been added to food. 'It's all fake,' she says. Returning to her earlier point, about the limitations of being on earth, she says there's more out there. 'If you're exploring the unknown, it's not about what anybody else has. Nobody knows. It's a different kind of competition. It's not about money. Money cannot get you to Mars. It's beyond money' But won't you need money to get there, I ask 'Yes, but it's not going to be the be all and end all,' she says. 'Why do we need approval to go to Mars? Cut the shit, all the regulation shit. We don't want politics but politics has unfortunately come to us,' she says. 'Normal people, we just want to get on with our lives.' Before we depart, I ask her what she thinks is at the edge, what she hopes to find at the final frontier? 'Nothing,' she says. 'It's like a cycle. We will start at the beginning. It's like the snake that eats itself. And that's the meaning of life. But first we have to go.'
Washington Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Ozzy Osbourne's fame never felt as big as his music
It takes great effort to cleanse your brain of the bat biting and reality television goofballing, but please try hard because the futuristic wail of Ozzy Osbourne — especially during an impeccable decade he spent in the band Black Sabbath — still has something important to tell you. Namely, that it can feel good to be frightened by your nightmares when reality is worse.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Customers wait hours in line to check out Elon Musk's new Tesla Diner
Customers wait hours in line to check out Elon Musk's new Tesla Diner Lines wrapped around the block for the opening of California's new Tesla Diner, a futuristic drive-in diner with robot servers.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Inside Elon Musk's Tesla diner of the future staffed by ROBOTS with drive-in movie screens & burgers in Cybertruck boxes
ELON Musk's Tesla is opening a one-of-a-kind high tech diner where customers can order food from their car touchscreens and will be served by robots. The Tesla Diner can be found on Santa Monica Boulevard in LA's media district. 5 5 5 The futuristic looking venue boasts an array of high tech features - as well as 80 Superchargers. Musk took to X earlier last week to praise the venue, saying: "I just had dinner at the retro-futuristic @Tesla diner and Supercharger. "Team did great work making it one of the coolest spots in LA!" The Tesla boss had previously hinted at building the diner back in 2018. While it still bears many of the hallmarks of a classic American diner, the Tesla venue has a typically futuristic theme. A humanoid robot called Optimus can be found inside, who is programmed to serve popcorn to guests. The robot was designed by Tesla. Visitors don't even need to get out of their cars to place an order, which can be done through their vehicle touchscreen. Their food will be served in Tesla Cybertruck-shaped boxes. Typical diner refreshments such as burgers, hot dogs, wings and milkshakes are all sold at the venue. Anyone who fancies a movie while the eat can watch a film on the diner's two gigantic 45-foot LED screens. The audio for the movies will be directly streamed into visitors' cars. Tesla fans on Musk's X shared their reactions to the new venue. One user called The Tesla Duck said: "Tesla should open a lot more of these diners, I am not local to the one that opens tomorrow but the food looks pretty good and I think it's an awesome attraction. "I'd imagine they could be pretty profitable. What other car comes with restaurant access?" Another commenter said: "Tesla hosted LA's First Responders at their Tesla Diner in LA for their soft launch today, and man does this place looks amazing! "They gave out official Tesla Diner merch, including Optimus Diner figures. "They had their entire fleet on display including Cybercab, and an Optimus robot that was serving popcorn." It's not the only time the controversial billionaire's companies have made headlines in recent weeks. Musk's AI chatbot Grok went rogue earlier this month and started spouting pro-Hitler and antisemitic comments on X. The material surfaced on the platform after an update telling it to be more "politically incorrect". The chatbot even appeared to dub itself: "MechaHitler". A spokesperson for xAI, the company behind Grok, said: "We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. "Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X." 5 5
CNET
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
This '90s Movie Is a Sci-Fi Techno-Noir Gem, and It's Streaming Free on Tubi
Techno-noir may not have ever been a major genre, but it delivers twists and turns in a futuristic city where things are darker than they seem. Films like Johnny Mnemonic, Blade Runner and 12 Monkeys popularized the genre, but they're far from the only options. One of my overlooked favorites of the genre is Dark City, a mind-bending techno-noir thriller that explores the idea of identity against a city swathed in darkness. Released in 1998, the underrated gem preceded The Matrix by a year, and it's streaming for free on Tubi right now Watch on Tubi I've been a fan of techno-noir vibes since my first time watching Blade Runner, and the '90s delivered a spate of excellent options that let me feast my eyes on beautiful sets, amazing stories and worlds that felt real and gritty in the best of ways. Dark City delivers a futuristic city swathed in shadows, with vibes from the 1950s like automats, or the costume design, and it's a style I can't get enough of. A man wakes up in a bathtub with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Almost immediately, things go off the rails. There's a dead woman in the next room, a cryptic phone call telling our unknown protagonist to get out of there, and a mystery that begins to unfold in the dark streets of the city. John Murdoch figures out who he is slowly through a series of clues, like his name in a ledger at the motel and his briefcase. As he tries to figure out what happened, he's beset on two sides. Police Inspector Frank Bumstead is trying to unravel a case of dead prostitutes that's leading him toward John. And then there are the mysterious "strangers." Tall, pale men who seemingly have the ability to change reality via "tuning." John is cornered by these strangers, but in a moment of desperation manages to alter reality and escape their clutches. Soon after, the clock strikes midnight, and John watches as every person in the city falls asleep, and the strangers use their mysterious abilities to change the architecture of the city itself. As John tries to recover his memories, he remembers he is from a small town outside the city called Shell Beach. However, any attempts to reach it end in failure. At this point, John is apprehended by the inspector, who believes him when he explains that something strange is going on in the city and uses his ability to tune to prove it. The atmosphere, set design, and overall cinematography in Dark City make every frame worth noticing. The 100-minute length is infused with mystery, drama and more questions than answers. The strangers stalk John and the inspector, a local doctor who has information about the strangers and where they came from, and the city continues to change and trap everyone within its alleys. I won't spoil the third act for you when you find out what the strangers are really after, and the methods they employ to find answers. When John begins to unravel the mystery he woke up inside of, things go from weird to truly out there. The murders, the amnesia and the city are all linked by the strangers, and once you find out what happened, there is no going back. Dark City reached cult classic status with good reason. While it might not have been a box office hit, it's still an amazing watch 27 years later. It's one of those sci-fi movies that gets me every time, and the cast delivers a top-notch performance. Sream it for free on Tubi, and discover the mystery for yourself.
