Report: Tesla Files For Restaurant Trademark

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

A new report suggests that Tesla has filed a trademark for its brand under restaurant services.

Yes, you read that right.

As the story in Electrek notes, it’s not the first time Tesla and boss Elon Musk have hinted at plans to expand into food service, but this new information suggests the company really is serious about it. It appears any planned Tesla restaurant would be part of plans to build a supercharging station.

In a way, it makes a lot of sense. Hungry Tesla drivers could get a bite while charging, and even those who aren’t seeking a meal might avail themselves of a cup of coffee while waiting for juice of the electric kind.

On the other hand, Tesla’s track record with the quality and reliability of its automobiles lends itself to a lot of jokes, ones that no doubt will appear below this article in the comments section.

That would hold true, I think, even if Tesla does what most people would say is the smart thing and hire an experienced food-service management company to run any restaurant it puts its brand on.

Obviously, the concept isn’t too far off from gas stations offering convenience stores — who among us has not felt a sudden, inexplicable need for soda/gum/candy while waiting for a bunch of dead dinosaur remains to fill their fuel tank? Who hasn’t pulled into a filling station to take care of some personal bodily business and felt guilty at using the facilities for free and assuaged that guilt by dropping a couple of bucks down on a bag of chips?

So if Tesla can slap its brand on a restaurant and snag some extra cash while drivers get charged up, good on them. Maybe some of the profits can be put back into manufacturing quality.

[Image: Jag_cz/Shutterstock.com]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Fazalmajid Fazalmajid on Jun 02, 2021

    An idea that makes perfect sense given it takes about 40mn to fully recharge a Tesla from empty on a SuperCharger. Highway gas stations in Italy usually have very decent eateries, it doesn't have to be a dismal experience.

  • Kendahl Kendahl on Jun 02, 2021

    It's always been a claim by EV fanbois that time spent charging during road trips would otherwise be spent on bathroom breaks and meals. Putting a restaurant on the same property as a Supercharger would make this a reality.

  • Art Vandelay Art Vandelay on Jun 04, 2021

    This brings back good memories of Agip Espresso all over Italy in the 1990's while a dude typically smoking a cigarette filled up my Alfa!

  • Sgeffe Sgeffe on Jun 04, 2021

    Hmm.. I suppose “Eat Here..Get Gas” wouldn’t be appropriate! Kind of a revolting idea! Obviously, Elon’s gotta plug something!

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