Free pizza and Ubers: Judge will hold jurors past 8 p.m. as Sam Bankman-Fried trial enters final stretch
Indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at the United States Courthouse in New York City, July 26, 2023.
Amr Alfiky | Reuters
The government is paying for pizza and Uber rides home for the 12 jurors in lower Manhattan who will decide the fate of Sam Bankman-Fried.
In court on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan told jurors he would keep them until 8:15 p.m. as the criminal trial of the FTX founder enters its final stretch. Kaplan had previously hinted at the expedited timeline, while reassuring the jury that he wasn’t rushing anyone.
Closing arguments wrapped up on Wednesday, followed by the prosecution’s rebuttal Thursday morning. Now the trial moves to jury instructions and then deliberations.
No proceedings are scheduled for Friday due in part to a juror’s conflicting schedule. Should deliberations last beyond Thursday evening, they would resume on Monday.
Bankman-Fried, the 31-year old son of two Stanford legal scholars, faces a potential life sentence if convicted on charges, which include wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, all tied to the collapse late last year of FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda Research. He pleaded not guilty.
The trial, which began about a month ago, has largely pitted the testimony of Bankman-Fried’s former close friends and top lieutenants against the sworn statements of their former boss and ex-roomate.
The government’s key witnesses included Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and the former head of Alameda, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, who was Bankman-Fried’s childhood friend from math camp, and former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh. All three pleaded guilty to multiple charges and cooperated as witnesses for the prosecution.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is questioned by defense lawyer Mark Cohen as he testifies in his fraud trial over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at federal court in New York City, U.S., October 30, 2023 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
In the government’s rebuttal Thursday morning to the defense’s closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Danielle Sassoon reminded the jury about the heart of the case. Billions of dollars of customer money from Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange went missing.
Telling customers that their assets are safe and then taking that money and using it for personal and other company expenditures is not a reasonable business decision — but fraud, Sassoon said.
The defendant had the “arrogance to think that he could get away with fraud,” she said. He wanted influence and power, and Sassoon referred to the testimony of a witness, who said Bankman-Fried thought he could someday be president.
Sassoon responded to the defense’s argument that cooperating witnesses were incentivized to blame Bankman-Fried in order to lessen their sentence, calling those allegations “outrageous.”
“If you believe Caroline, the defendant is guilty,” Sassoon told the jury in her rebuttal. “If you believe Gary, the defendant is guilty. If you believe Nishad, the defendant is guilty.”
Sassoon added that Ellison, as a co-conspirator, operated in dread and fear waiting for customers to realize their money was gone.
One of Bankman-Fried’s main defenses was that he made mistakes, primarily related to risk management and in not hiring a chief risk officer. Sassoon says that’s not a defense — it was a strategy.
“If you’re embezzling money, of course you’re not going to have a chief risk officer,” she said.
Sassoon ended by telling jurors that Bankman-Fried thought he could fool customers, reporters, the public and now them.
“Don’t fall for it,” she said. “Find him guilty.”
After Sassoon wrapped up her rebuttal, the judge moved into one of the trial’s final stages, a step known as charging the jury. The multi-hour process involves reading jurors a 60-page set of instructions. When he’s done, the jury will enter deliberations until they land on a verdict.
WATCH: Prosecutors, defense paint different versions of Sam Bankman-Fried
Tesla average transaction prices (ATPs) in March are estimated at $54,582, higher year-over-year by 3.5% and higher than in February, according to the latest monthly new-vehicle ATP report from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book.
Average transaction prices for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y were higher month-over-month and year-over-year in March. Tesla’s sales in Q1 continued their long-term decline after peaking in Q1 2023. Estimates from Kelley Blue Book suggest Tesla’s sales in Q1 2025 were lower year-over-year by more than 8%. Its deliveries were also worse than expected.
New EV prices in March overall are initially estimated by Kelley Blue Book to be $59,205, higher year-over-year by 7.0%. New EV prices increased from the revised higher February ATP of $57,015.
The ATP for an EV last month was nearly 25% higher than the industry average of $47,462, widening the price gap between new EVs and gas-powered cars even more.
But EVs are still seeing heftier incentives than the industry average. In March, the average EV incentive came in at 13.3% of the transaction price – down 1% from February’s revised 14.3% but still well above what gas cars are getting.
So, where are we heading? Higher prices, thanks to Trump’s tariffs. But what that will look like remains to be seen. Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, said, “All signs point to higher prices this summer, as existing ‘pre-tariff’ inventory is sold down to be eventually replaced with ‘tariffed’ inventory. How high prices rise for consumers is still very much to be determined, as each automaker will handle the price puzzle differently.”
Read more: EV incentives surged to 14.8% of ATP in Feb – highest in 5+ years
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BYD just launched the first EVs based on its new Super e-platform with ultra-fast charging. The new Han L sedan and Tang L SUV can gain nearly 250 miles range in 5 minutes, and prices start at just $30,000.
Meet BYD’s new EVs with ultra-fast charging
During a launch event on April 9, BYD introduced the new EV models, claiming its engineers have “achieved the master realm of Chinese technology.”
The Han L and Tang L are the first EVs based on BYD’s 1000V Super e-platform. After unveiling the ultra-fast EV charging platform last month, BYD’s CEO, Wang Chuanfu, said to ease charging anxiety, “The ultimate solution is to make charging as quick as refueling a gasoline car.”
That solution is now here. BYD’s new Han L is available in three trims, starting at just 219,800 yuan ($30,000), lower than the pre-sale price of 270,000 yuan ($36,800).
BYD’s new electric sedan is 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall, or about the size of a Tesla Model S (5,021 mm long, 1,987 mm wide, and 1,431 mm tall).
All variants are powered by an 83.2 kWh BYD Blade battery, providing up to 435 miles (701 km) of CLTC driving range. Based on BYD’s 1,000V architecture, the Han L comes with two charge guns with an up to 10C charge rate.
Nearly 250 miles in just 5 minutes?
With ultra-fast charging, the electric sedan can gain 400 km (248 miles) in just five minutes. In six minutes, it can recharge from 10% to 70%, and in just 20 minutes, it can fully recharge (0% to 100%) the battery.
Like all its new EV models, the Han L is equipped with BYD’s God’s Eye smart driving assist system. It features the mid-tier “B” version and DiPilot 300.
BYD’s new electric SUV, the Tang L, is also offered in three trims. It starts at 239,800 yuan ($32,700), also below the pre-sale price of 280,000 yuan ($38,200).
The Tang L is also based on BYD’s 1,000V architecture and ultra-fast charging platform. Powered by a 100.5 kWh battery, it has a CLTC range of up to 435 miles (701 km) and can gain 230 miles (370 km) in 5 minutes. It will take about 30 minutes to go from 0% to 100%.
BYD’s electric SUV is 5,040 mm long, 1996 mm wide, and 1,760 mm tall, or slightly bigger than the new Tesla Model Y Juniper in China (4,797 mm long, 1,920 mm wide, and 1,624 mm tall).
Like the Han L EV, the electric SUV has BYD’s God’s Eye B ADAS system with DiPilot 300. Both the Han L and Tang are available as PHEVs, starting at 209,800 yuan ($28,500) and 229,800 yuan ($31,300).
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Thomas Fuller | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
The fintech sector is rallying Wednesday following the Trump administration’s announcement of a 90-day pause on planned tariffs.
Affirm was up 20%, Toast and Block rose 13% and PayPal increased 10%.
The 90-day pause doesn’t eliminate the threat of tariffs — it just delays it. Investors are still pricing in risk, including inflation, discretionary pullbacks, hardware import costs and credit exposure.
Legacy payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard, both up 6%, continue to benefit from inflation and their structural ties to nominal GDP. These companies take a percentage of every transaction. That makes rising prices a tailwind.
“If prices are moving up for certain goods and you’re paying with a credit card, it’s actually good for the credit card companies,” said Dan Dolev, a fintech analyst at Mizuho.
Their pricing structure has historically made them resilient during inflationary periods, including recessions. The situation is less rosy for the new wave of consumer lending fintechs.
Affirm, which specializes in allowing consumers to buy now and pay later, could suffer if consumers pull back spending when the pause is lifted as a result of tariffs causing prices to rise. The San Francisco-based company could see its revenue less transaction costs margins — essentially what the company pockets after paying processing fees and customer incentives — drop more than 22% in that scenario, according to a Goldman Sachs estimate on Tuesday.
The adoption of buy now, pay later may rise as consumers hit credit limits, said SIG analyst James Friedman, but he added that the model remains untested in a downturn.
Toast, Block and Fiserv, which was up 6%, develop software used by restaurants and small businesses. Those companies could face rising hardware costs and softening demand from customers if the tariffs go through.
Meanwhile, cross-border payments — one of the most profitable segments for Visa, Mastercard and PayPal — remain under pressure as global travel slows and e-commerce flows adjust to the uncertainties of Trump’s tariffs.
Even remittance players such as Remitly and Western Union, both up 8%, could face longer-term pain if immigration pipelines slow or remittance corridors tighten under regulatory scrutiny. Similar to cross-border commerce, remittances depend on a steady flow of people and transactions, both of which remain fragile.
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