Why Tesla wants to get into the restaurant racket
Because it takes a half hour to charge a Tesla.
Tesla recently filed a trademark for its brand under the category of restaurant services. The company has been thinking about and planning a move into the food business for years.Â
Specifically, Tesla's trademark applications filed May 27 fall under Restaurant services, pop-up restaurant services, self-service restaurant services and take-out restaurant services.Â
The reason, if you think about it, is obvious.Â
Electric cars take more than a half-hour to charge. The gasoline-car norm of pulling up to a pump, filling the tank and driving off within five minutes doesn't happen with electric cars, which take a half hour to charge in the best-case scenario.Â
The question is: What to do with that half hour?Â
One answer is a "lounge," as Tesla built at its Kettleman City, California, Supercharger station. The station has dozens of charging stations, plus a place to buy Tesla merch, beverages and fast food like hamburgers.Â
Musk tweeted that something similar is coming to Santa Monica, California.Â
When he says "50s diner," I believe he's working on the option for people to stay in their cars and eat in the car while it’s charging.Â
Fast forward five years, and I believe many Tesla charging stations will offer dozens of charging stations at which food service is offered, plus an indoors restaurant with WiFi, movies, kids' play areas, bathrooms and mini-marts. And I’d even go so far as to throw in a car wash, too (very handy when the kids spill their milkshake inside the car.)
It's really not that radical of a concept. What's radical is that Tesla would actually provide all the services itself, rather than selling space to third-party food chains. That way, they can better control the quality of the food and design containers less likely to spill.
It's a great idea, and one that just might help enable electric cars to go truly mainstream, while simultaneously advantaging Tesla in the coming total war for dominance in the electric car space.
Yep, I totally agree with Mike's take. When I travel to a distant location requiring an overnight stay, I typically schedule my departure so that my charging stops coincide with a breakfast and/or lunch (by dinner time I've usually reached my destination where I'll get a decent meal). The car typically schedule 25 minutes a charging stop, enough for a quick bite or a longer one while gaining additional range. It works pretty well. My only complain is that most charging locations are in the vicinity of mostly fast food restaurants.
A Tesla-grade porta potty would pretty well meet my basic needs at a supercharger.