Friday's Fast Five: Week of 5.10

Tesla’s big gamble: Full Self-Driving in the wild (CNBC - video):  Full Self-Driving, or FSD, is one of the most controversial parts of Elon Musk’s Tesla strategy, with regulators calling the branding misleading and dangerous. But love it or hate it, Tesla has unleashed FSD, with a free trial for millions of U.S. drivers. That means more data -- an essential component to any company trying to develop autonomous driving. Tesla’s approach to gathering all that data could prove all of Musk’s naysayers wrong, or leave it continuing to play catch up with more advanced self-driving tech.

The Dictator’s Son Wanted His Yacht Back. That’s When Trouble Started for Two Oilmen. (The Wall Street Journal): Vice President Teodorin “Teddy” Nguema Obiang was in a mood for payback. The Obiangs have run the oil-rich Central African country of Equatorial Guinea like a family ATM since 1979, accumulating mansions in Paris and Malibu, Ferraris and Bugattis, and at least three superyachts, according to court documents. And now a South African court was seizing Nguema Obiang’s two high-end Cape Town villas and the Blue Shadow, the yacht that carries his jet-ski collection while he vacations on one of the other two.

The walls of Apple’s garden are tumbling down (The Verge): Apple’s reckoning isn’t just the end of an era for the company — it’s a reflection of the smartphone’s fall from beloved gadget to commodity.

Who Can Be Trusted for Retirement Advice? New Rules Strengthen Protections. (The New York Times): The Biden administration announced new rules on Tuesday that will require more financial professionals to adhere to a higher standard when providing financial advice about your retirement money. Starting Sept. 23, investment professionals who hold themselves out as trusted advisers will be required to act as fiduciaries — that is, they can’t place their interests ahead of the investor — when customers pay them for advice on individual retirement accounts, 401(k)s and similar buckets of tax-advantaged dollars. 

The Complete History & Strategy of Microsoft (Acquired - podcast): This episode tells the story of Microsoft in its heyday, the PC Era. We cover its rise from a teenage dream to the most powerful business and technology force in history — the 20-year period from 1975 to 1995 that took Bill and Paul from the Lakeside high school computer room to launching Windows 95 alongside Jay Leno and the Rolling Stones. From BASIC to DOS, Windows, Office, Intel, IBM, Xerox PARC, Apple, Steve Jobs, Steve Ballmer… it’s all here, and it’s all amazing. Tune in and enjoy… Microsoft.