Elon Musk is planning to enter the hospitality space as he is looking to start a chain of drive-in restaurants next to its network of Supercharger stations. Musk's electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has applied for a new trademark for restaurant services under its brand name.

Electrek has reported that Tesla has applied for three new trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering categories of "restaurant services, pop-up restaurant services, self-service restaurant services, take-out restaurant services.”

The company would be using the stylised "T" and its own stylised "TESLA" typography for the trademarks.

Musk’s plans for the restaurant chain have stayed dormant for years. Musk had first floated the idea in 2018, tweeting out, "Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA."

Before that, in 2017, Tesla CTO of the time, JB Straubel, had indicated that the company would perhaps move into the food business.

Soon after Musk's tweet, Tesla had applied for building permits in Santa Monica for "a restaurant and Supercharger station".

Nothing much came of the project until building applications were submitted by Tesla earlier this year. Though the new plans didn't mention any locations, in April, Musk tweeted out again saying he still hoped for a 50's style diner in Santa Monica.

"Major new Supercharger station coming to Santa Monica soon! Hoping to have 50’s diner & 100 best movie clips playing too. Thanks Santa Monica city!”, Musk had tweeted.

Major new Supercharger station coming to Santa Monica soon! Hoping to have 50’s diner & 100 best movie clips playing too. Thanks Santa Monica city!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2021

With more than 25,000 Superchargers, Tesla owns and operates the largest global, fast-charging network in the world, located on major routes near convenient amenities.

The new trademarks cover Tesla branding, so it seems more likely that Tesla now plans to partner with existing restaurateurs than building its own from scratch.