- First Tesla Diner opens in Hollywood
Tesla opened its first diner in Hollywood. The concept combines a Tesla charging station with foods and drinks as in a diner. The idea is that patrons spend the time it takes to charge their car batteries at the diner. Here they can eat fast food, buy Tesla merchandise or watch a movie on the big outside screens. The biggest appeal of this diner seems to be its retro-futuristic design – it apparently cannot decide if it is from the future or from the 1950s. Also people cannot seem to decide yet if this concept is going to be top or flop. According to reports on the web, long queues mainly form when the touchscreen stations for ordering food are broken. Also the popcorn-making humanoid robot apparently needs some time off in between.
Will such fanciful service stations become the norm as electric vehicles are becoming more widespread, offering drivers a good time while they wait for their vehicles to be charged? Or will this concept become obsolete as soon as charging times reach the range of just a few minutes?
In my humble opinion, the concept of the Tesla diner is a sign that the fully self-driving Tesla is not around the corner yet, as the really autonomous car could go charging by itself while the driver is doing something more worthwhile. - Competition for the ICE – German company Flixtrain to launch high-speed trains
The German company Flixtrain – together with Flixbus a subsidiary of Flix – announced its plans to enter the market for high-speed trains in Germany and also in Europe. It ordered 65 train sets at Spanish company Talgo. Its competitor Deutsche Bahn ordered the same trains, the difference is only that Flix will buy the locomotives from Siemens instead of Talgo.
With this order the Deutsche Bahn will for the first time have serious competition in the long-distance passenger market. Flixtrain plans to beat its rival with cheaper fares and mandatory seat reservations. The passenger potential seems to be there, yet questions remain if they can get non-discriminating access to the tracks and also to the booking system of the Deutsche Bahn. And even if their concept is good, they still have to suffer from the overloaded and ailing railway infrastructure in Germany. I wish them all the best in their endeavor, as only real competition can bring about real improvements for the passengers.
Title image generated with ChatGPT