| The FCC keeps itself busy, Tesla's Model 3 nears road-readiness and autonomy gets more money. All that and more in The Daily Crunch for March 24, 2017. 1. The FCC has a full docket – but isn't talking about looming Senate vote The FCC is sending out emails to press about its many agenda items with a furor rarely seen at the organization, but the one thing it isn't addressing is the impending Senate vote to repeal privacy rules. This isn't necessarily unusual behavior of the body – it's beholden to Congress in many ways. But Devin points out that it's weird for the organization not to comment at all when crowing about other protections it's offering consumers. 
2. The Tesla Model 3 is almost ready for prime time Tesla's Model 3 is ready to roll – or the release candidate is drivable, at least. Elon Musk posted a video of the near-final version of the car taking its first drive, a promising sign if Tesla wants to meet its goal of starting production in July. Still, he also wants to temper customer expectations while stoking the hype – he reminded folks that the Model 3 isn't going to be a more advanced Model S; in fact, just the opposite. 3. Equity podcast talks Amazon and Apple acquisitions Amazon and Apple are buying stuff up, and Uber's imploding, and the Equity podcast crew on it, this week with special guest Elizabeth Clarkson from Sapphire Ventures. 4. SoftBank raises $4.6 million to make its autonomous buses a reality by 2020 SoftBank, one of Japan's largest mobile carriers, is making moves to accelerate the pace of its self-driving bus project. It's aiming for 2020 for commercialization of the tech, and just raised a $4.6 million round for its SB Drive sub-entity, led by Yahoo Japan. Autonomy is the new connectivity. 5. Theranos is offering founder shares to investors to block lawsuits Additional shares, including some from the hoard of founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes, are being used to entice investors not to sue. There's plenty of reason they might like to do that, given the company's trajectory, but early money could help stave off further mutiny. 6. Senators really want to pass a bill to get tough on vehicle cybersecurity Cybersecurity is important for connected cars – so much so that it's usually the first thing out of the mouths of car companies and automotive software providers I talk to. U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal want to make sure it's not only important, but legally imperative with a re-introduced bill. 7. Nomadic wants VR to be grander Virtual reality is still mostly promise over delivery. But Nomadic, armed with ex-Lucasfilm special effects wizards, wants to make it something that matters to people via theatre-style installations. Stranger things have happened, I guess. | 
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