Tesla protestors were, if anything, loud on Saturday night. Though I would bet that supporters at the diner far outnumbered detractors.
Credit: Brooke Crothers
The Tesla Diner in Hollywood was bustling on Saturday night with patrons charging and eating. There was a helping of politics too.
The Tesla Diner sits ironically in one of the most liberal parts of Los Angeles: West Hollywood. That means it’s automatically going to be a magnet for protestors. I was there on opening day on July 21. It was mobbed with patrons – and protestors. As I point out in the most recent video below (Saturday September 13), it’s not so much anti-Tesla as it is anti-Elon. But I should add that many of the patrons are either apolitical or pro-Tesla.
As I did on opening day, I spoke with some of the protestors on Saturday night. While their message is over-the-top and hyperbolic (Elon has utterly destroyed America), they don’t seem particularly angry. You can draw whatever conclusion you want from that.
I asked one of the protestors on Saturday night if they were against Tesla per se. He said no. (Though he did take exception to the Cybertruck.) I told him about something that happened to me at the North Hollywood Tesla store and service center, where I was called a “fascist” by a protestor for just standing there waiting to test drive a Model Y. He said he doesn’t engage in that kind of rhetoric. That said, he was part of an Anti-Tesla group and was protesting at their behest.
His message was basically that Elon Musk had destroyed America via DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). I listened patiently as he lectured me for about five minutes.
Is the Tesla Diner still popular?
One thing that the anti-Elon people repeat over and over is that the Tesla diner is failing, i.e., it’s becoming less and less popular. I would take issue with that. Yes, it’s not as popular as it was opening day and the ensuing days after that but its popularity has remained pretty constant. I visit the Diner often and I’ve spoken with security people who are there every day. To a person, they do not see a decline in popularity. And, again, that’s remarkable because it’s in the heart of liberal-leaning Los Angeles.
Charging a 2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium AWD
But on to more practical matters. As the video shows, there were plenty of non-Tesla vehicles charging on Saturday night. That’s a good sign. Because, based on my experience, Tesla Superchargers are vastly superior to the public charging competition, such as EVgo and Electrify America. For many reasons. Too many to go into here. Importantly, you always get a truly fast charge. When I was charging the 2025 Mach-E (which Ford was gracious to loan me for a week) I could add about 100 miles in 15 minutes.
And I’ve had a lot of experience charging General Motors EVs – most recently a 2025 Sierra EV Denali – at Tesla Superchargers. Really easy and really fast. Again, I can’t say that for Electrify America, which is hit or miss: great one day and terrible the next. The larger point is, the more non-Tesla vehicles have access to Tesla Superchargers, the better.