Tesla Diner Chef and Co-Operator Quits to Open a Jewish Deli

In the lead-up to the already controversial opening of Tesla Diner in LA came the unexpected hiring of Eric Greenspan, the LA chef famous for his critically acclaimed grilled cheese joint. 

Just his involvement was news in the food world. It felt like a minor local food celebrity with plenty of community goodwill was picking a self-consciously edgy stepping stone to wider ambitions. Other chefs, like Paul Kahan of Chicago, had shied away from working with Musk, and said so publicly. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times’ story about the opening of the diner indicated that Greenspan also intended to open a Jewish Deli called Mish not far from Tesla Diner. 

Well, according to a report Tuesday from the Los Angeles Times, Greenspan says he is in fact leaving to focus on his Jewish Deli. 

Greenspan apparently texted Los Angeles Times reporters to say, “I am leaving the Tesla Diner project to focus on the opening of Mish, my long-desired Jewish deli,†and added that, “Projects like Mish and the Tesla Diner require a sharpness of focus and attention,†and that his “focus and attention is now squarely on Mish.â€

Tesla Diner sits in a flashy, UFO-shaped building, and is strategically located to attract a lot of LA tourists in rented Teslas. Greenspan’s cooking was apparently hemmed in a bit by Elon Musk’s demand, according to the reporting of Eater, that everything on the menu be “epic,†including—or especially?—the “epic†bacon side dish.

For a restaurant opening, the event was controversial, coming a month after a public feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump created the most tabloid-friendly moment to date in the second administration of the most tabloid-friendly president to date. The restaurant was almost immediately picketed. Then, the next month, Greenspan tweaked the menu to remove some items, including a salad, a club sandwich, some sides and desserts, and that “epic†bacon. 

“We don’t order anything except for the burgers now,†an unnamed guest told the New York Times’ restaurant reviewer, adding, “Everything else is just so bad.â€

The Los Angeles Times apparently pressed Greenspan unsuccessfully on whether people protesting and saying he worked for “the Swasticar restaurant†and such contributed to his departure. He didn’t comment on any of that.

In any case, it’s probably not outlandish to guess that mustering your “sharpness of focus and attention†on the opening of your Jewish Deli, all while being pressured to make epic bacon in a controversial car-themed restaurant to please the richest man in the world, who has not shied away from occasionally seeming like he is not all that fond of Jews, sounds irksome.

But now Greenspan can focus on what he pretty clearly wanted to do in the first place. Meanwhile, according to anonymous sources who spoke to the Los Angeles Times, Tesla Diner and its landmark building will remain open, and a plan is in the works to make it a “full-service†restaurant at the start of next year.

Gizmodo inquired to Tesla about reasons for Greenspan’s departure, and will update if we hear back.