Tech Should Serve Hospitality - not Replace It: What the Tesla Diner Reminds Us at Foodhub
Foodhub for Business
September 8, 2025
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When Elon Musk opened his much-hyped Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, a retro-style drive-in with robot popcorn servers, burgers in Cybertruck boxes, and LED rooftop cinema screens, it instantly became a talking point not just for car lovers or Musk fans, but for anyone working in tech, food, or hospitality.
We were watching closely - not for the burgers, but for what this experiment in futuristic dining says about the role of technology in hospitality.
Because here’s the thing:
We’re pro-tech. We believe in digitisation. We’re building smart tools every day. But we also believe - fiercely - that tech should support hospitality, not replace it.
At Tesla’s diner, guests queued for hours. App glitches confused. Some customers waited for food served by robots that didn’t quite hit the mark. The experience felt more like a demo reel than dinner.
It’s exciting, sure. But at Foodhub, we’ve learned something different from working with thousands of restaurant partners: People don’t want every part of dining to be automated. They want it to be easy, efficient, and warm.
That’s why we offer features like contactless ordering and payment - so customers can breeze through their meal - but we always make sure there's someone real to reach when they need help.
When something goes wrong with an order, no robot is going to offer the kind of understanding a human can. That’s why our 24-hour Call Centre Support exists. Not as a backup, but as a built-in human-first safeguard.
We don’t replace people. We empower them.
There’s a lot of talk about AI and automation replacing jobs. But that’s not the future we’re building.
We’re not flying in drones to replace delivery staff.
We’re not installing bots to greet your customers at the door.
We’re not automating the kitchen.
Instead, we’re asking:
Our tools focus on the back-end friction points that eat into time and margin:
That’s what real innovation looks like: not removing people, but removing inefficiency.
Gimmicks Are Fun, But Fundamentals Matter
We’ll admit it: robot popcorn is quirky and fun. But let’s be honest—does it fix anything?
We’re more interested in:
Because when tech is built to solve real problems, it doesn’t need to perform. It just works. In a world full of digital gimmicks, Foodhub for Business chooses practical brilliance.
Responsible tech = Smarter hospitality
The future of hospitality isn’t no humans.
It’s smarter humans with better tools.
It’s a kitchen team that knows exactly what to prep and when.
It’s a manager who can spot peak hours and plan staff rotas accordingly.
It’s a customer who can scan a QR code, order their meal, and still get a warm thank you when they leave.
That’s what we’re building at Foodhub. And we’ll keep building it - not for headlines, but for the hard-working restaurant owners and teams who make the food industry what it is.
We’re not against robots. We’re against losing the plot. Tech has its place. At Foodhub, we place it strategically:
Because we believe the best type of restaurants aren’t solely powered by robots.
They’re powered by people, passion, and the right platform.