James May Blasts Tesla Diner As 'Massively' Expensive: 'No Wonder' Elon Musk Is The World's Richest Man

British motoring journalist James May, best known for ‘Top Gear’ and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video’s ‘The Grand Tour,’ delivered a sharply critical review of Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) West Hollywood diner, calling the retro-futuristic charging stop an overpriced gimmick that failed to capture the spirit of a classic American diner.

May Says Diner Misses American Spirit

May visited the Tesla Diner with co-host Lucy Brown in a video posted to his YouTube channel, "James May's Planet Gin." The site combines a Supercharger station, diner and drive-in theater at 7001 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, according to Tesla.

May summed up the experience bluntly, describing it as “just a supercharging station like the one at fleet services on the M3. And to be honest, not very true to the spirit of the American diner,” adding, “That had the feel of it like someone who’s an expert at playing Baroque harpsichord having a go at jazz. It just doesn’t work."

Food And Prices Draw Sharp Criticism

The food drew little praise. May rated a cheese hot dog "three or four" out of 10, while Brown said a cookie that cost more than $7 after tax and tip tasted more like a $1 cookie. May said, "Your $6 cookie, which I already thought was expensive, came out at $7 something with state tax… and they added 20% tip on." He added, "Everything’s like massively expensive. It’s no wonder he’s the richest man in the world," referring to Elon Musk.

May described the interior as "clever" but "sterile" and mocked having to order a visible cookie through an app. He also expected waitresses on roller skates but instead saw heavy security.

Benzinga reached out to Tesla for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Musk Still Plans More Diners

The trip doubled as an opportunity to critique the car he drove. May found his way to the diner in a Tesla Model Y Long Range while trying the vehicle's self-driving features. He has also previously discussed his likes and complaints about the Model 3.

Last month, Musk revealed that "More Tesla Diners" are coming after Tesla highlighted in-car food ordering while drivers navigate to the West Hollywood site. Tesla has shared a few operating metrics, but an earlier report claims the diner sold about 50,000 burgers in the third quarter last year, highlighting the scale of demand even after the menu was pared back.

Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TSLA stock maintains a strong price trend performance metric over the short, medium and long terms, with a poor value ranking.

Photo: Frederic Legrand – COMEO on Shutterstock.com