Pulled into Bates Nut Farm and the first thing that hit me was the Cybertruck row. Just a line of them — different colors, different builds — parked side by side on the grass. The Juniper’s first EV meetup was going to be a good one.
We left home at 88% state of charge and headed to Valley Center, out near Harris Casino. There was a little rain on the freeway on the way down, but by the time we arrived it was hot. Like, actually hot. The weather app had Valley Center sitting at 95°F.
The Lineup
This wasn’t just a Tesla show, even if Teslas had the numbers. Scanning the lot you could find Mach-Es, Chevy Bolts, a Lucid Air — a solid cross-section of what the SoCal EV community actually drives right now.
The custom builds were something else entirely.
That pink Model 3 with the lambo doors got a lot of attention. And the two chameleon-wrapped Model S cars — one green-gold, one blue-purple — were parked right next to each other like they planned the photo. Cybertruck sitting in the background completed the shot.
Running Into Familiar Faces
One of the better surprises of the day: ran into a friend whose channel has been covering the Lucid Gravity. He’s done the walkaround, the drive, and a 400 kW charging session. If you’re not following that coverage, go find it — the charging speed alone is worth watching.
That’s one of the things I genuinely enjoy about these events. The YouTube and social side of the EV community overlaps with the in-person side in a way that doesn’t happen with most other car scenes.
Vendors and the SoCal Vibe
Beyond the cars, there were vendor booths set up throughout the lot — small businesses supporting the event. One of them had a hat pattern I might have tried on. Don’t judge.
The Farm Side
Bates Nut Farm isn’t just a parking lot — there’s an actual market inside. Halloween decorations were already up, and the candy selection alone was worth the walk. German raspberries, cafe mocha rice crispy treats, chocolate-covered Oreos, sea salt almond toffee, and fudge. I left with a bag of the raspberries and some beef jerky. No regrets.
There was also yakisoba with carne asada from one of the food booths. Fusion that had no business working as well as it did.
Events like this are why I keep showing up to these things. The SoCal TeslaRuns Lake Arrowhead run earlier this year had a similar energy — good people, interesting cars, zero pretension. If you’re on the fence about attending your next local EV meetup, just go. The scene here in Southern California is real.
And yes — this was the Juniper’s first meetup. It fit right in.
Let me know in the comments if you made it out to the Bates Nut Farm event. Drop what you were driving.
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