Tesla Diner Exits Chef, Employees Point to New Full-Service Format

The chef and co-founder behind Tesla Diner, one of the city’s most notable and polarizing new restaurants, is leaving the project. Employees told the LA Times that the electric vehicle charging station and diner will also soon convert to a full-service restaurant model.

Electric vehicle company Tesla’s first restaurant opened in July on the border of Hollywood and West Hollywood, drawing fans and protesters for months. Its chef, Eric Greenspan, led the kitchen with a menu of American classics such as milkshakes, tuna melts, burgers and wagyu chili hot dogs.

But the New School American Cheese founder and former Foundry chef, who also helped launch Mr. Best Burger and Weight Watchers Cafe, said he was no longer committed to the diner and that his exit had been in the works for more than a month.

“I am leaving the Tesla Diner project to focus on opening Mesh, my longtime Jewish deli,” Greenspan wrote in a text message. “Projects like Mesh and the Tesla Diner require a sharpening of focus and attention, and my focus and attention is now firmly on Mesh.”

Tesla representatives could not be reached for comment.

Greenspan faced backlash for his involvement when his relationship with Tesla Diner was confirmed in March. A few of the remaining comments on his Instagram from that time refer to the “sustainable restaurant”.

In July, when the restaurant opened, the chef posted a video to his personal Instagram; The caption read, “Tesla’s Diner is now open. 24/7 from now on forever.” A stream of comments chastised the chef for his hand in business and his ties to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the controversial figure and richest man in the world.

Greenspan then deleted the video from his Instagram page, along with all other mentions of the Tesla Diner.

Tesla Diner chef and co-owner Eric Greenspan in the restaurant’s kitchen on opening day.

(Stephanie Brijo/Los Angeles Times)

Greenspan did not respond to a request for comment on whether any negative response contributed to his departure from the company, nor on the future of the restaurant’s menu.

A Tesla Diner employee said Tuesday afternoon that they had not heard of Greenspan’s departure but that the employee had been informed that the diner would be converted to a full-service restaurant by January.

Greenspan confirmed that Bill Chet, his former business partner at Tesla Denner, will remain attached to the project. Chet will also be a partner in the upcoming Mesh, which Chet previously said opened last month on La Brea Avenue. Chat could not be reached for comment.

“It’s been an amazing experience and I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished together,” Greenspan wrote in his message. “We will continue to work together at Mish, and he will always have my support in any way he needs.”

A protester brought the sign he used at the “No Kings” protest in June to the opening day of the Tesla Diner on July 21, 2025.

(Lauren Ng/Los Angeles Times)

Not all comments for the Tesla Diner are negative.

On Tuesday, the rain of the past few days broke and the sun shone through the clouds on the round metal Tesla Diner in Hollywood. Customers streamed in around lunchtime as the Everly Brothers blared through the speakers. There were many tourists, taking pictures of Tesla’s signature.

Connor Yoon, 26, visiting from Vancouver, had rented a Tesla and visited the charging station. He didn’t know the bread was located there until he pulled it into the lot.

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s a Tesla dish.’ I had heard about it,” Yuen said.

Yoon’s friend, Nick Roquefort, 25, said he has owned a Tesla for three years in his native France.

But neither Greenspan nor any of the other clean powers behind the project were heard.

“I love the diner, I love the retro-futuristic style,” Roquefort said. “I think it’s good.”

21-year-old Gabriel Samuel, visiting Stockholm, waits at a booth for his Giga Burger. He said he and his friends were excited to try the food after seeing videos on social media: “We saw it on Tic-Tac and said, ‘Let’s eat there.'”