Petrol companies have tried desperately to make their refuelling stations look a little more attractive and functional – adding in pint-sized supermarkets, cafes and fast-food chains in an effort to make the rest and refuelling experience that much more bearable.
But they hardly amount to much as “destinations”. Tesla, however, is seeking to take that idea one step further by combining its Supercharging stations with restaurants, drive-in theatres and even a skating rink. That’s the sort of thing you can do when there are no fossil fuels splashing around, and when you need to wait a while anyway to charge the EV.
Musk first flagged the idea way back in 2018, and followed through a year later with initial plans, which have now been adapted for a new facility in Hollywood, with construction plans flagging a semi-circular two-story building with two movie theatre screens, and of course 29 Supercharger stalls.
A leading architect Ed Howard, whose firm Howard Architectural Models specialises in renderings, has just provided a detailed render of what this might look like.
“Milliways – the restaurant at the end of ICE!” Howard tweeted, before noting that the detailed renderings contained just about everything from the world of Elon Musk – including the Cybertruck, Mars Roadsters and the Falcon 9. Can’t see it taking off in Australia, but who knows.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.