SF to Yosemite Drive with Tesla FSD: Central Valley
Crossing California with Tesla FSD: San Francisco → Yosemite Part 3
Introduction
Part 3 of our journey from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park takes us inland through the Central Valley.
Starting near Tracy, we follow State Route 132 past Modesto and into Turlock.
Highlights include the vast nut orchards of California’s “breadbasket” and a tour of Silicon Valley‘s marquee companies.
*This article condenses the key points from the video below into text form.*
If something sparks your curiosity, be sure to watch the full video!
🛣️ Route Details – Part 3
- Distance covered: about 101 miles (total from San Francisco)
- Main roads: I-580 → CA-132 → US-99
- Cities along the way: Tracy → Modesto → Turlock
- Video speed: edited at 6×
- Remaining to Yosemite: roughly 90 miles
Long-Haul Performance of Tesla FSD
This leg of the trip really showcased FSD’s value on long drives.
California freeways demand frequent lane changes, but FSD judges and executes them at just the right moment, dramatically cutting driver fatigue.
🚗 Lane-Change Benefits: Side-swipe collisions are a common risk on long trips.
By covering blind spots with multiple cameras and choosing optimal gaps, FSD lowers both driver stress and accident odds.
Looking Ahead to Unsupervised FSD
Following the Cybercab prototype reveal in October 2024, Tesla has been in talks with Austin officials about autonomous-tech regulations.
Plans call for rolling out Unsupervised FSD—fully driverless operation—in California and Texas as early as 2025, a huge leap from today’s Level 2, which still requires human oversight.
Central Valley: The World’s Largest Nut-Producing Region
California’s Nut Empire
On both sides of CA-132, evenly spaced rows of trees stretch to the horizon.
These are almond and walnut orchards, a reminder that California reigns as the planet’s top nut producer.
📊 Scale of California’s Nut Industry
| Nut Type | Global Share | Annual Export Value | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almonds | Over 80 % | ≈ $5 billion | ≈ 1.13 million t (2023) |
| Walnuts | Leading producer | ≈ $1.25 billion | ≈ 0.75 million t |
| Pistachios | Top U.S. producer | ≈ $2.07 billion | Data pending |
Why Nut Farming Thrives in the Central Valley
Five key factors have made the area around Modesto and Turlock the world’s leading nut-producing region.
🌱 Central Valley Success Drivers
1. Ideal Mediterranean Climate
Hot, dry summers paired with mild winters create perfect flowering and fruit-setting conditions for almonds and walnuts.
2. Fertile Soils
Nutrient-rich, well-drained earth—formed from millions of years of river and lake deposits—offers an optimal growth medium for nut trees.
3. Abundant Water Resources
Extensive irrigation fed by major rivers such as the Sacramento and San Joaquin supplies reliable moisture year-round.
4. Robust Economic Infrastructure
Well-developed processing plants and export logistics give growers an efficient distribution pipeline.
5. Cutting-Edge Agricultural Technology
Research institutions in California have bred high-yield, disease-resistant varieties and refined cultivation techniques.
Modern Nut Harvesting System
The evenly spaced trees are laid out for efficient, fully mechanized harvesting.
During the picking season—August to October for almonds and September to November for walnuts—the following steps take place:
- Shaker: A vibrating machine shakes ripe nuts onto the ground.
- Drying: Nuts air-dry on the orchard floor for several days until moisture levels are just right.
- Sweeper: A sweeper gathers the nuts into tidy windrows.
- Picker: A picker lifts the rows into collection bins.
- Processing & inspection: At the plant, shells are removed and quality checks are performed.
⚠️ Tip for Central Valley travelers: The region is extremely dry—nothing like Japan’s humid climate—so dehydration can sneak up on you.
Stock extra water ahead of time at a supermarket and keep it in the car; vending machines and convenience stores are scarce out here.
Silicon Valley Pilgrimage
This leg of the trip also features a “Silicon Valley pilgrimage,” stopping at the headquarters of tech giants that have changed the world.
We’ll focus on sites that are open to visitors.
Google Headquarters Campus
The sprawling campus offers a visitor café and a Google Store, all set amid park-like lawns.
Each building is massive, underscoring the scale of this global powerhouse.
Sculptures and walking paths give the place the vibe of a modern-day company town.
Intel Corporation
Intel runs a free museum where you can explore the history of semiconductor technology and see the company’s latest innovations.
A giant Intel logo stands in the courtyard, and the gift shop sells unique Intel-branded merch—perfect souvenirs for friends back in Japan.
Apple Park Visitor Center
While the main Apple Park campus in Cupertino is closed to the public, the Visitor Center’s flagship store and café are open.
True to Apple’s aesthetic, the building is exquisitely designed, and the surrounding trees are all the same species for a seamless look.
From the rooftop terrace you can take in the vast campus, planted with some 9,000 trees.
⚠️ Note: You’ll need to book a time slot in advance to visit the Apple Store.
Palo Alto: The Heart of Silicon Valley
Palo Alto—often dubbed “The Heart of Silicon Valley”—is known as the launchpad for countless tech giants.
Early Tesla operations, Elon Musk’s X.com (later PayPal), and Facebook’s (now Meta) first headquarters all started here, making the city a true cradle of innovation.
🏢 What makes Palo Alto special: Even as a cutting-edge tech hub, it features charming shopping streets, quiet residential zones, and abundant parks and green spaces, all in harmony with the surroundings.
The area is safe and serene, ideal for a relaxed stroll.
Coupa Cafe: Silicon Valley’s Networking Hub
Located near Stanford University, Coupa Cafe is famous as a gathering spot for entrepreneurs and tech professionals.
It serves organic Venezuelan coffee, and the café buzzes with business meetings and deal-making.
☕ What Sets Coupa Cafe Apart
- Payment system: One of the first cafés to accept Bitcoin
- Ordering: Early adopter of table-side ordering and payment via smartphone
- Networking hub: A go-to meetup spot for Stanford students, founders, and investors
- Coffee: Mild, clean flavor profile that gets high marks
Modesto & Turlock: Central Valley Hub Cities
Modesto
Sitting in the heart of the Central Valley, Modesto is one of the region’s nut-industry powerhouses.
Located at the eastern end of CA-132, it feels like a snapshot of modern California where agriculture and technology thrive side by side.
Turlock
Roughly 32 km (20 mi) south of Modesto, Turlock is our charging stop on this leg.
The area is known for stable public safety, making it an ideal rest point on a long drive. With quick access to Highway 99, it’s also the perfect staging ground for the final push toward Yosemite.
Tesla Supercharger Experience
Using a Supercharger in Turlock reaffirmed Tesla’s long-distance practicality.
Merging back onto the freeway, FSD delivered smooth acceleration and lane changes that felt as natural as those of a skilled human driver.
🔋 FSD Rental Service: EcoDrive now offers FSD-equipped Tesla rentals for sightseeing in L.A.—a great way to sample the latest Tesla tech!
Recap: Where Agriculture Meets Technology
Part 3 of our road trip from San Francisco to Yosemite highlighted California’s remarkable diversity.
In just a few hours you can drive from Silicon Valley—home to the world’s most cutting-edge tech firms—into the Central Valley, where some of the planet’s largest nut orchards stretch to the horizon.
That striking contrast is the essence of modern California.
Next up: the final 90-mile push to Yosemite National Park.
What sights and experiences await on that last leg?
With Unsupervised FSD edging closer to reality, we’re excited to explore how autonomous tech and raw nature can coexist.
EcoDrive offers rental cars equipped with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD), so when you’re in California, be sure to give it a try!
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