News
Tesla’s Santa Monica Supercharger imagined in new renders, but where’s the 50’s diner?
Tesla’s massive Supercharger facility in Santa Monica, California, has been visualized in new renders, giving plenty of indication of what is to come to what is arguably the automaker’s most highly-anticipated charging facility to date. While the new graphics give a look into the future with V3 charging stalls giving Teslas additional range, the photos also show the restroom facility that will be available to those who will utilize the 62-stall facility in the heart of Los Angeles’ beach town, the rumors of a restaurant and movie screen seem lofty, especially as real estate for the lofty design seems to be minimal, and the new renders didn’t include any visualizations of the planned 50’s diner.
Tesla’s 62-stall V3 Supercharger in Santa Monica
Since early 2021, Teslarati has been closely following the situation in Santa Monica. Initially, there was a lot of speculation of what was to come after a 2018 announcement from Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who said that a drive-in movie theater with a roller rink was coming to Santa Monica, giving Tesla owners one of the most unique Supercharging experiences yet. The project finally took off after Tesla gained preliminary approval to build 62 of its fastest EV chargers across two vacant lots, located at 1401 and 1421-1425 Santa Monica Boulevard.
The lot was at one time home to Steve Taub Porsche-Audi, but this dealership closed down. For a couple of years, the lots were used to sell seasonal items like Christmas trees and Pumpkins for Halloween. That is until Tesla submitted their 2018 plans for a restaurant and drive-in movie theater. However, it would not be until 2021 that Tesla finally started making some progress with the site.
Elon Musk confirms major Tesla Santa Monica Supercharger: 50’s-style diner, drive-in movie clips
After preliminary plans were approved and put into place, Tesla had a full-scale blueprint of what the facility would look like. Ultimately, the 62-stalls would be complemented with a restroom facility, Cybertruck-designed spots, and solar canopies that would provide the V3 chargers with power. The additional energy would be stored in a Tesla Megapack, just like many of its other large-scale commercial projects that require energy storage.
The project took a short-term detour as Santa Monica City Council members decided that the site could be more beneficially utilized as housing. This was a short-lived derailment of the Tesla project, and Santa Monica’s council members chose to let Tesla have their project.
The new renders: 1401 Santa Monica Boulevard
The new renders obtained by Teslarati via the GPD Group, the developer responsible for the project, show plenty of before and after angles of what will eventually be known as the Santa Monica Supercharger.
- Credit: GPD Group
- What 1401 Santa Monica Blvd. will look like after Tesla finishes the Santa Monica Supercharger project. (Credit: GPD Group)
- Credit: GPD Group
- Credit: GPD Group
- Credit: GPD Group
- Credit: GPD Group
- Credit: GPD Group
- Tesla’s full-service bathroom accomodations for 1401 Santa Monica Blvd. (Credit: GPD Group)
The renders above are for the first lot, located at 1401 Santa Monica Boulevard. This lot will be home to 36 of the 62 V3 chargers. Along with the chargers, the indoor restroom facility will be located on this lot. The GPD Group renders show that the company will transition an already-standing building on the lot into the restroom building. The solar canopies will also be installed on this lot, as it is the location of a majority of the Supercharging stalls.
The new renders: 1421-1425 Santa Monica Boulevard
The remaining 26 V3 Superchargers will be located on the lot at 1421-1425 Santa Monica Boulevard. The spaces in this lot are of varying widths and lengths, hinting toward Cybertruck-specific charging stalls as the automaker prepares for production of the all-electric pickup later this year.
- Credit: GPD Group
- Credit: GPD Group
Where’s the restaurant?
Now, unfortunately, there are no renders, images, or even hints that Tesla’s 50’s-style diner will even be at this location. Based on the images and previously published blueprints of the plans for the 62-stall Supercharger facility on Santa Monica Blvd., there isn’t much space for one, either. However, there are plenty of indications that Tesla has not included this in any plans, blueprints, or images as of yet. In fact, there is a strong possibility that the company will be submitting these soon, as there is a six-month revision period that Tesla can utilize that will expire in early September, according to documents.
Tesla is officially planning to enter the restaurant business
The documents that the Santa Monica City Council has released seem to suggest that there will be a restaurant on the premises, however. According to the subheading “Construction Plan Requirements,” Tesla will be required to oblige by sanitation and food safety requirements if it ultimately decides to build a restaurant at the facility, of course. It looks like it will be a relatively intimate space, as the documents state that there will likely be less than 50 seats on the interior of the restaurant. This makes sense, however, as there are only 62 stalls, to begin with, drivers and passengers will likely want to eat their food in their own car, and the planned 100 greatest movie clips of all-time that Musk has hinted toward will likely be projected on an outdoor screen or displayed through each vehicle’s individual center screen.
What’s going on at the site as of July 13?
Currently, several things are going on at the two vacant lots. First, the project will be subjected to a “Pending Design Review” next Monday, July 19th, at 7 PM PST. There are opportunities for members of the public to livestream or dial into the event. It is unknown what the call will actually provide, but it appears that the final steps could be finalized before construction can begin.
Additionally, Tesla has been transporting prefabricated Superchargers to the lots. Based on images sent in by a Teslarati reader, we can see that Tesla is bringing these prefab Superchargers to the area for what is likely to be temporary measures.
- Credit: Brain Deming
- Credit: Brain Deming
- Credit: Brain Deming
Tesla previously used prefabricated Superchargers at a site in Beaver, Utah. However, these Superchargers were not permanent, and they were utilized to likely charge vehicles that had arrived on site for unknown reasons. As you can see, they are identical to the Superchargers seen here.
For now, the Santa Monica Supercharger project remains in the hands of the City Council Members. However, next week, there should be more answers, as the call will likely allow Tesla to move forward with this highly-anticipated project.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.












