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Is Elon Musk opening a restaurant?Is Elon Musk opening a restaurant?

Tesla filed for three new trademarks for the brand under the category of restaurant services

Joanna Fantozzi, Senior Editor

June 2, 2021

2 Min Read
Elon Musk
Elon Musk has hinted at venturing into the restaurant industry for several years now.Saul Martinez / Stringer / Getty Images

Joanna Fantozzi

The next career step for Elon Musk could be in the restaurant industry: Tesla, Inc. filed for three new trademarks on May 27 for the electric car and clean energy company under the category of restaurant services, as first reported by Electrek.

The Tesla trademark registrations — one for the Tesla logo, one for the word Tesla, and another for a stylization of the logo — are “intended to cover the categories of restaurant services, pop-up restaurant services, self-service restaurant services, take-out restaurant services,” according to the trademark. Tesla is still waiting for approval from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and will be reviewed by an attorney by the end of August.

Although it might seem like an unusual step for the technology magnate, in 2018, Musk had floated plans to open a 1950’s-style drive-in movie theater and restaurant at a Tesla Supercharger electric car charging station in Los Angeles. Tesla also has opened multiple Superchargers with cafes attached to them and other food amenities.   

Later that year, Musk appeared to apply for building permits to make his futuristic Supercharger drive-in idea a reality. Although the plans that came to fruition did not actually include a restaurant or drive-in in the long run, this latest trademark application appears to put the idea of a Tesla restaurant back on the table. In April, Musk tweeted that a new Supercharger was coming to Santa Monica soon and that he was “hoping to have 50’s diner & 100 best movie clips” there too.

Related:Kimbal Musk’s Square Roots makes hyper-local produce scalable for urban restaurants

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Elon Musk’s brother, Kimbal Musk, is also already a restaurant operator and owns The Kitchen Restaurant Group, with restaurants in Boulder and Denver, Colo. and Chicago.

Contact Joanna at [email protected]

Find her on Twitter: @JoannaFantozzi

About the Author

Joanna Fantozzi

Senior Editor

Joanna Fantozzi is a Senior Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. She has more than seven years of experience writing about the restaurant and hospitality industry. Her editorial coverage ranges from profiles of independent restaurants around the country to breaking news and insights into some of the biggest brands in food and beverage, including Starbucks, Domino’s, and Papa John’s.  

Joanna holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and creative writing from The College of New Jersey and a master’s degree in arts and culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Prior to joining Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group in 2018, she was a freelance food, culture, and lifestyle writer, and has previously held editorial positions at Insider (formerly known as Business Insider) and The Daily Meal. Joanna’s work can also be found in The New York Times, Forbes, Vice, The New York Daily News, and Parents Magazine. 

Her areas of expertise include restaurant industry news, restaurant operator solutions and innovations, and political/cultural issues.

Joanna Fantozzi has been a moderator and event facilitator at both Informa’s MUFSO and Restaurants Rise industry events. 

Joanna Fantozzi’s experience:

Senior Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (August 2021-present)

Associate Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (July 2019-August 2021)

Assistant Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (Oct. 2018-July 2019)

Freelance Food & Lifestyle Reporter (Feb. 2018-Oct. 2018)

Food & Lifestyle Reporter, Insider (June 2017-Feb. 2018)

News Editor, The Daily Meal (Jan. 2014- June 2017)

Staff Reporter, Straus News (Jan. 2013-Dec. 2013)

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