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Tesla’s LA diner and charger gets closer, but when will it be done?

Credit: AlSet51241438 | X

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Tesla continues to make progress on its unique diner, drive-in theater, and Supercharger location in Los Angeles, and while the site’s building and main parking lot appear to be nearing completion, the adjacent lot suggests that it still may be several weeks before the charger is opened.

As seen in a post on X from user AL Set over the weekend, Tesla’s LA diner is getting fairly close to being finished in the main parking lot area. Over the last several weeks, Tesla has been making a lot of interior progress on the diner building, along with unveiling the V4 Superchargers the company has been installing over the past few months.

While Tesla first began installing charging posts in the main diner building lot in late September, the stalls have been covered by cardboard up until recently. Although the main parking lot is looking nearly complete, the adjacent lot is now getting even more V4 Supercharger stalls, though it still needs to be graded and paved.

You can see the latest photos of the Tesla diner below, taken on Saturday, along with a video from 247Tesla shot a little over a month ago.

Credit: AlSet51241438 | X

Credit: AlSet51241438 | X

Credit: AlSet51241438 | X

Tesla’s progress on the LA Diner: 2023 to now

To be sure, Tesla could theoretically open to diner prior to the adjacent lot being completed, though it’s not clear whether or not the company plans to do so. In any case, we’re likely to see the Tesla diner open in the coming months, though the company hasn’t yet set an opening date for the Supercharger at this point.

Tesla first broke ground on the LA diner, drive-in, and Supercharger in September 2023, and it has steadily been making progress on construction since then. The company gained an initial wave of approvals for the diner site in 2022, after the idea for the project was first mused about by CEO Elon Musk in 2018, as posted on what was then Twitter.

“Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA,” Musk wrote.

The CEO also said it would have “an outdoor screen that plays a highlight reel of the best scenes in movie history,” along with plans to have the food menu “pop up as soon as you put the car into park.”

Located at 7001 Santa Monica Blvd., the site got its first frame for the screen on the Northern side of the main lot in March, with the actual LED panel being installed in November. Since then, Tesla has managed to install the LED screen for the second frame, with the past couple of months being heavily focused on the diner building’s interior.

Tesla’s LA diner, drive-in, and Supercharger in July 2024:

Credit: 247Tesla | YouTube

Tesla’s LA diner, drive-in, and Supercharger in January 2024:

Credit: Fox 11 Los Angeles

Tesla’s LA diner, drive-in, and Supercharger in November 2023:

Credit: Ed Howard | X

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Tesla is hiring for its drive-in movie diner and Supercharger in Los Angeles

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Swedish unions consider police report over Tesla Megapack Supercharger

The Tesla Megapack Supercharger opened shortly before Christmas in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm.

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Credit: Tesla Charging/X

Swedish labor unions are considering whether to file a police report related to a newly opened Tesla Megapack Supercharger near Stockholm, citing questions about how electricity is supplied to the site. The matter has also been referred to Sweden’s energy regulator.

Tesla Megapack Supercharger

The Tesla Megapack Supercharger opened shortly before Christmas in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm. Unlike traditional charging stations, the site is powered by an on-site Megapack battery rather than a direct grid connection. Typical grid connections for Tesla charging sites in Sweden have seen challenges for nearly two years due to union blockades.

Swedish labor union IF Metall has submitted a report to the Energy Market Inspectorate, asking the authority to assess whether electricity supplied to the battery system meets regulatory requirements, as noted in a report from Dagens Arbete (DA). The Tesla Megapack on the site is charged using electricity supplied by a local company, though the specific provider has not been publicly identified.

Peter Lydell, an ombudsman at IF Metall, issued a comment about the Tesla Megapack Supercharger. “The legislation states that only companies that engage in electricity trading may supply electricity to other parties. You may not supply electricity without a permit, then you are engaging in illegal electricity trading. That is why we have reported this… This is about a company that helps Tesla circumvent the conflict measures that exist. It is clear that it is troublesome and it can also have consequences,” Lydell said.

Police report under consideration

The Swedish Electricians’ Association has also examined the Tesla Megapack Supercharger and documented its power setup. As per materials submitted to the Energy Market Inspectorate, electrical cables were reportedly routed from a property located approximately 500 meters from the charging site.

Tomas Jansson, ombudsman and deputy head of negotiations at the Swedish Electricians’ Association, stated that the union was assessing whether to file a police report related to the Tesla Megapack Supercharger. He also confirmed that the electricians’ union was coordinating with IF Metall about the matter. “We have a close collaboration with IF Metall, and we are currently investigating this. We support IF Metall in their fight for fair conditions at Tesla,” Jansson said.

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Tesla HW4.5 spotted in new Model Y, triggers speculation

Owners taking delivery of recent Model Y builds have identified components labeled “AP45.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Hardware 4.5 computer appears to have surfaced in newly delivered Model Y vehicles, prompting fresh speculation about an interim upgrade ahead of the company’s upcoming AI5 chip.

Owners taking delivery of recent Model Y builds have identified components labeled “AP45,” suggesting Tesla may have quietly started rolling out revised autonomy hardware.

Hardware 4.5 appears in new Model Y units

The potential Hardware 4.5 sighting was first reported by Model Y owner @Eric5un, who shared details of a Fremont-built 2026 Model Y AWD Premium delivered this January. As per the Model Y owner, the vehicle includes a new front camera housing and a 16-inch center display, along with an Autopilot computer labeled “AP45” and part number 2261336-02-A.

The Tesla owner later explained that he confirmed the part number by briefly pulling down the upper carpet liner below the Model Y’s glovebox. Other owners soon reported similar findings. One Model Y Performance owner noted that their December build also appeared to include Hardware 4.5, while another owner of an Austin-built Model Y Performance reported spotting the same “AP45” hardware.

These sightings suggest that Tesla may already be installing revised FSD computers in its new Model Y batches, despite the company not yet making any formal announcements about Hardware 4.5.

What Hardware 4.5 could represent

Clues about Hardware 4.5 have surfaced previously in Tesla’s Electronic Parts Catalog. As reported by NotATeslaApp, the catalog has listed a component described as “CAR COMPUTER – LEFT HAND DRIVE – PROVISIONED – HARDWARE 4.5.” The component, which features the part number 2261336-S2-A, is priced at $2,300.00.

Longtime Tesla hacker @greentheonly has noted that Tesla software has contained references to a possible three-SoC architecture for some time. Previous generations of Tesla’s FSD computer, including Hardware 3 and Hardware 4, use a dual-SoC design for redundancy. A three-SoC layout could allow for higher inference throughput and improved fault tolerance.

Such an architecture could also serve as a bridge to AI5, Tesla’s next-generation autonomy chip expected to enter production later in 2026. As Tesla’s neural networks grow larger and more computationally demanding, Hardware 4.5 may provide additional headroom for vehicles built before AI5 becomes widely available.

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Elon Musk’s Grokipedia is getting cited by OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Some responses generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT have recently referenced information from Grokipedia.

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UK Government, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Some responses generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT have recently referenced information from Grokipedia, an AI-generated encyclopedia developed by rival xAI, which was founded by Elon Musk. The citations appeared across a limited set of queries.

Reports about the matter were initially reported by The Guardian

Grokipedia references in ChatGPT

Grokipedia launched in October as part of xAI’s effort to build an alternative to Wikipedia, which has become less centrist over the years. Unlike Wikipedia, which is moderated and edited by humans, Grokipedia is purely AI-powered, allowing it to approach topics with as little bias as possible, at least in theory. This model has also allowed Grokipedia to grow its article base quickly, with recent reports indicating that it has created over 6 million articles, more than 80% of English Wikipedia. 

The Guardian reported that ChatGPT cited Grokipedia nine times across responses to more than a dozen user questions during its tests. As per the publication, the Grokipedia citations did not appear when ChatGPT was asked about high-profile or widely documented topics. Instead, Grokipedia was referenced in responses to more obscure historical or biographical claims. The pattern suggested selective use rather than broad reliance on the source, at least for now.

Broader Grokipedia use

The Guardian also noted that Grokipedia citations were not exclusive to ChatGPT. Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude reportedly showed similar references to Grokipedia in some responses, highlighting a broader issue around how large language models identify and weigh publicly available information.

In a statement to The Guardian, an OpenAI spokesperson stated that ChatGPT “aims to draw from a broad range of publicly available sources and viewpoints.” “We apply safety filters to reduce the risk of surfacing links associated with high-severity harms, and ChatGPT clearly shows which sources informed a response through citations,” the spokesperson stated.

Anthropic, for its part, did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. As for xAI, the artificial intelligence startup simply responded with a short comment that stated, “Legacy media lies.”

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