Here are the emails, texts and photos that could put Sam Bankman-Fried in prison for life
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Over the past month, lawyers in the criminal trial of Sam Bankman-Fried have brought close to 20 witnesses to the stand and presented hundreds of exhibits to the 12 jurors who will decide the fate of the boy once deemed the king of crypto.
The jury, which began deliberations on Thursday afternoon, has a mountain of evidence to consider in determining whether the 31-year-old founder of FTX is guilty of seven criminal counts, which include wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, faces more than 100 years in prison if convicted.
While prosecutors were able to present the jury with testimony from members of the defendant’s inner circle, Bankman-Fried’s case rests largely on his own appearance on the witness stand.
“From beginning to end, Sam Bankman-Fried’s team failed to come up with a real game changer,” said Renato Mariotti, a former prosecutor in the U.S. Justice Department’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Section and now a trial partner in Chicago with Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. “His fraud was brazen and difficult to explain away, and he lacked the discipline to keep his mouth shut even after it was apparent that he was under criminal investigation.”
In addition to oral testimony, the government brought in other evidence to try and prove its case and to paint a picture of an executive who got too much, too fast, and spent well in excess of his means. These exhibits include encrypted text messages, emails, promissory notes, Google docs, spreadsheets, leaked videos and photos displaying Bankman-Fried’s lavish lifestyle, including of his $35 million condo in the Bahamas.
Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney’s office entered into evidence a series of photos featuring the $35 million penthouse where Sam Bankman-Fried and his fellow co-workers resided.
Source: SDNY
$1.1 billion in promissory notes
For weeks, prosecutors have shown the jury how billions of dollars in FTX customer money went to political donations, venture investments and luxury real estate. They traced the hundreds of millions of dollars that went from company coffers to Bankman-Fried’s personal accounts.
The prosecution presented a series of relatively simple, two-page promissory notes. According to agreements signed by the defendant and Caroline Ellison, who ran hedge fund Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried borrowed more $1.1 billion in the year before his companies — FTX and Alameda — filed for bankruptcy.
Bankman-Fried admitted on the stand that there were likely more loans that weren’t properly documented, so the borrowing probably exceeded what was presented into evidence.
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Secret emails
Much of the government’s case against Bankman-Fried hinges on the testimony, emails, and text messages from former top lieutenants who turned against him late last year.
In one email, shared by prosecutors, Bankman-Fried promised preferential treatment to Bahamian customers on the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
In a message to Ryan Pinder, the attorney general and minister of legal affairs for the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried claimed FTX had “segregated funds for all Bahamian customers” and would be “more than happy to open up withdrawals for all Bahamian customers on FTX, so that they can, tomorrow, fully withdraw all of their assets, making them fully whole.”
The email was sent Nov. 9, one day after FTX had halted withdrawals and two days before it filed for bankruptcy. FTX users had collectively pulled $5 billion off the platform in what amounted to a bank run.
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Two other separate email chains show that Bankman-Fried seriously mischaracterized his role at Alameda Research, according to prosecutors.
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
In a message to Rob Creamer, the CEO of Geneva Trading and chairman of FIA Principal Traders Group, Bankman-Fried wrote “Alameda has a totally separate team” that he didn’t manage.
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Bankman-Fried wrote in an email to a Wall Street Journal reporter that Alameda’s account access “is the same as others” and that its traders don’t have “any special access to client information, marketdata, or trading.” According to the government, those claims have been debunked through witness testimony and internal company documents and text messages.
Alameda’s preferential treatment is spelled out in the two exhibits listed below. They show Alameda’s “allow negative” feature, and a line of credit on FTX that was $65 billion compared to $150 million or less for all other customers on the exchange.
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Google Docs
Executives at FTX and Alameda used Google Docs and Sheets to share important financial information, according to their testimony.
Ellison would send alternative versions of balance sheets, some omitting key financials like the amount of customer funds borrowed by Alameda to cover its liabilities, to Bankman-Fried. He would then decide what to send to lenders.
Bankman-Fried would also consider larger strategy decisions in memos to his top execs.
In one memo, Bankman-Fried laid out the merits of shuttering Alameda, pointing to the “PR hit from Alameda and FTX both existing.” He wrote that, “the current Alameda leadership is good, but not good enough to be able to trust with such a big operation.”
He also wrote personal memos after the business had collapsed.
In a Google Doc dated Dec. 25, Bankman-Fried referenced the $600 million-plus stake in Robinhood he’d acquired with capital from Alameda. He wondered whether he should “try calling up the broker HOOD is with and see if they’ll just give me the shares without thinking about it.”
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
A big part of the government’s case revolves around the ways Bankman-Fried allegedly directed spending of money at Alameda long after he was no longer officially running the hedge fund.
In a message to FTX’s then general counsel Can Sun, Bankman-Fried pushed to get a $250 million transfer to hedge fund Modulo Capital expedited in full within eight hours. Sun later testified about the transaction under a non-prosecution agreement with the government.
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Getting chummy with celebrities
Bankman-Fried’s chummy ties with celebrities and his enthusiasm for spending hundreds of millions of dollars on endorsement deals were areas of focus for the government.
Prosecutors showed the court a spreadsheet of investments made in 2021. They included $205 million for FTX’s naming rights to Miami’s NBA arena, $150 million to Major League Baseball, $28.5 million to NBA star Stephen Curry, $50 million to quarterback Tom Brady and his then wife Giselle Bundchen, and $10 million to comedian Larry David. The deals on the spreadsheet amounted to a total of $1.13 billion.
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Nishad Singh, who was FTX’s director of engineering, testified that the $300 million outlay on investment firm K5 was among the most troubling. He said Bankman-Fried sent him a term sheet detailing hundreds of millions of dollars of bonuses to owners Michael Kives and Bryan Baum. That followed a K5 dinner Bankman-Fried attended alongside Hillary Clinton, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kris and Kylie Jenner.
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Singh said he told Bankman-Fried he was very concerned and that the K5 investment was “value extractive.” He also said he asked Bankman-Fried if the investment was made with his money or FTX’s. The spreadsheet showed it came from Alameda.
In a motion to dismiss a complaint in bankruptcy court against K5, the firm’s lawyers said the “plaintiffs attempt to make Kives and Baum complicit in SBF’s wrongdoing has no basis in fact.”
Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Leaked audio
In an all-hands meeting on the evening of Nov. 9, 2022, Alameda Research employees gathered in a circle to listen to Ellison, the CEO, who was sitting on a beanbag. She told staffers about Alameda’s borrowing from FTX, and said the exchange now had a “shortfall of user funds.”
Christian Drappi, a former software engineer at Alameda, was one of the 15 people in attendance at the meeting in the Hong Kong office. Ten others joined via video from the Bahamas.
In his testimony, Drappi described Ellison’s demeanor that night as “sunken.” He said she was “kinda slouching” and “did not display confident body language.”
In the recording of the Ellison meeting that was played for the jury, Drappi can be heard asking about FTX’s plan to pay back customers. Ellison said the company would raise money to fill the hole. Drappi asked Ellison if Alameda’s loans were collateralized through the spot margin group. She said they weren’t, and Drappi said, “That seems pretty bad.”
Caroline Ellison is questioned during Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial over the collapse of FTX, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at Federal Court in New York City, U.S., October 11, 2023 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
Encrypted messages
Of the hundreds of items entered into evidence, a bank of messages on encrypted app Signal paint perhaps the clearest picture of Bankman-Fried’s alleged crimes.
One thread, dubbed “small group chat,” included Ellison, Bankman-Fried, and Joe Bankman, the defendant’s father, who advised the company on tax-related issues and other things. Also in the group were Ramnik Arora, a former product lead for FTX; Ryne Miller, who was the company’s general counsel; Constance Wang, ex-operating chief; and former FTX executive Ryan Salame.
Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Early in the morning on Nov. 7, the defendant put forth some “potential todos,” including halting withdrawals, sending a “confident tweet thread” and reaching out to firms such as Silverlake, Sequoia, and Apollo as they “wake up over the next few hours” to try to shore up cash.
Later that morning, Salame linked to a tweet from an anonymous crypto trader saying, “cant wait for my FTX airdrop for not moving any of my funds.”
Bankman-Fried chimed in with different ideas about how to take advantage of the post in an apparent effort to provide false hope to FTX customers that they’d receive free tokens if they kept their funds on the platform.
Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
The next day, Nov. 8, Ellison appealed to the group for help on optics and public messaging.
She wrote, “multiple people internally asking me whether they should continue to make statements to external parties like ‘Alameda is solvent.’ should i suggest they stall instead? just stall on responding to their messages? or what?”
That’s the same day FTX issued a pause on all customer withdrawals. The price of FTT, FTX’s native token, plummeted by over 75%. Out of options, Bankman-Fried turned to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who announced he’d signed a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire FTX.
Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
On Nov. 9, Ellison again looked to the group for guidance about how to handle the now infamous all-hands meeting of Alameda’s roughly 30 employees.
She proposed saying, “Alameda is probably going to wind down” and that there was “no pressure” to stay but help with “stuff like making sure our lenders get paid” would be “super appreciated.”
Bankman-Fried suggested she say something about there “being a future of some sort for those who are excited.”
Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
The author’s visit
Author Michael Lewis, whose book profiling Bankman-Fried was published the day the trial began, was also the subject of some Signal exchanges.
In a chat on Jan. 5, 2022, Bankman-Fried alerted a group that included Ellison and Singh that Lewis would be coming to the Bahamas the next month to do reporting.
Ellison said her “instincts are more toward under the radar.” Bankman-Fried, a notorious press hound, responded, “same, except exactly the opposite.”
As the grand scheme collapsed months later, Ellison expressed a great deal of relief in a private chat with Bankman-Fried.
Ellison wrote, “this is the best mood I’ve been in in like a year tbh” (“tbh” is short for “to be honest”).
In three consecutive messages, Bankman-Fried responded, “wow,” “uh,” “congrats?”
Ellison wrote, “I think I just had an increasing dread of this day that was weighing on me for a long time, and now that it’s actually happening, it just feels great to get it over with one way or another.”
Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.
Source: SDNY
Environment
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 disappoints with hallucinations, brake stabbing, and speeding
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) v14, its first major update in a year, disappoints as data points to a lower increase in miles between disengagements than expected.
The system also features new hallucinations, brake stabbing, and excessive speeding.
Earlier this month, Tesla began rolling out its Full Self-Driving (FSD) v14 software update to some customers.
The update has been highly anticipated for several reasons.
First off, it has been a year since Tesla released any significant FSD update to customers, as it focused on its internal robotaxi fleet in Austin. The update is believed to feature improvements developed through Tesla’s robotaxi fleet, which requires supervising like its consumer FSD.
Secondly, CEO Elon Musk has claimed that Tesla still plans for “Supervised Full Self-Driving” to become unsupervised by the end of the year in consumer vehicles. For that to happen, we needed to see a massive improvement from v13 to v14.
As I previously reported, I anticipated an improvement in miles between critical disengagements from ~400 miles in v13 to ~800 to 1,200 miles in v14. It would be a significant improvement, but still way short of what’s needed to make FSD unsupervised.
Tesla notoriously doesn’t release any data about its FSD program. Musk has literally told people to rely on anecdotal experiences posted on social media to gauge progress.
Fortunately, there’s a crowdsourced dataset that gives us some data to track progress with miles between critical disengagement. It’s far from perfect, but it is literally the best data available, and Musk himself has shared the dataset in the past – albeit while misrepresenting it.
In the last week, Tesla started pushing the FSD v14 update (now v14.1.4) to more owners – resulting in more crowdsourced data and anecdotal evidence.
With now over 4,000 miles of FSD v14 data, miles between critical disengagement sits about 732 miles – below the lower end of our expectations:
Tesla would need to be closer to 10,000 miles between critical disengagements to allow unsupervised operation, and even then, it would likely be in geo-fenced areas with speed limitations.
This is unlikely to happen by the end of the year, as Musk predicted, as FSD v14 appears to have some significant issues still.
First off, many FSD v14 drivers are reporting that the update is having problems with hallucinations where the car decides to stop on the side of the road seemingly randomly:
It does seem like FSD v14 sometimes misinterprets other vehicles’ turn signals as emergency vehicle lights and pulls over.
In some cases, FSD v14 has been known to completely disable FSD features inside vehicles:
Many FSD v14 drivers have also reported an increase in “brake stabbing”, where the vehicle seems to hesitate and frantically applies the brakes and releases them – resulting in a stabbing motion.
As previously reported, Tesla also brought back its ‘Mad Max’ mode in FSD v14, which allows for driving exceedingly over the speed limit.
Electrek’s Take
Now, I don’t want to hear anything about my use of anecdotal evidence and crowdsourced data. That’s literally the best data available for FSD.
Unlike virtually all other companies developing self-driving technology, Tesla refuses to release any.
If it were to release some data, I’d be happy to use it.
One thing is clear from v14 so far: unsupervised FSD in consumer vehicles is not happening in any meaningful way this year.
I expect significant improvements in upcoming FSD v14 point updates. Maybe enough to get it to my previous expectations of ~800 to 1,200 miles between disengagements, but that’s about it.
Finally, while I generally don’t count on NHTSA to enforce any rule in any significant way when it comes to Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” effort, I think they might actually do something about “Mad Max.”
This video on Instagram has 4.5 million views, and it shows extremely dangerous driving behavior at up to 90 mph (145 km/h)
I think the authorities will have to intervene here, because it makes no sense for an unproven autonomous driving system to be able to operate under those parameters.
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![The Toyota Corolla EV is bringing a sharp new look, but that's just the start [Images]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/Toyota-Corolla-EV-5.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Toyota’s best-selling car is finally going electric. The Corolla EV looks more like a Porsche or BMW than the Toyota vehicles on the road today, but that’s just the start.
The Toyota Corolla is evolving into a rad-looking EV
After revealing the Corolla Concept for the first time at the Japan Mobility Show on Tuesday, Toyota’s CEO, Koji Sato, said the compact car has always been “a car for everyone.”
Since it hit the market over 50 years ago, Toyota has sold well over 50 million Corollas. The Corolla even surpassed the VW Beetle in the 90s to become the world’s best-selling vehicle. Like the Prius, Toyota’s compact car lured in buyers with an affordable price and a reputation as a reliable daily driver.
Although it’s still a top-seller, the Corolla has lost some of its charm as more advanced, stylish, and efficient electric cars hit the market.
Toyota looks to change that with a drastic overhaul that takes the Corolla to the next level. To stay relevant, Sato asked the crowd at the event, “How should the Corolla evolve?”
We all want to drive a car that looks cool, but there’s much more to it nowadays. Buyers are increasingly seeking more efficient vehicles with the latest software, connectivity technology, and other features.
“Whether it’s a battery EV, plug-in hybrid, hybrid, or internal combustion engine vehicle―whatever the power source―let’s make good-looking cars that everyone will want to drive!” Toyota’s CEO said, adding the car is “packed with inventions aimed at making that a reality.”
Although Toyota didn’t confirm the concept was headed for production, the next-gen Corolla is expected to arrive with a similar style.
The concept still features Toyota’s newest design elements, like the “hammerhead” front end, but with a bit more of a futuristic feel.
You can barely tell the concept is a Corolla, aside from the massive COROLLA badging on the rear. Toyota didn’t reveal any powertrain details, but the charge port and closed-off grille suggest it’s an EV.
The next-gen Toyota Corolla is expected to be offered as an EV, a plug-in hybrid, a hybrid, and, likely, still an ICE variant.
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Three months after Uber, Lucid Motors, and Nuro announced a partnership that would enable Gravity SUV robotaxis, the rideshare network has shared where the public will first be able to hail one. Spoiler alert, it’s easy to guess if you give it half a thought.
As we reported in July, Uber Technologies committed to a $300 million investment in Lucid Group (parent company of American EV automaker Lucid Motors), to deploy at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles as robotaxis over the next six years.
Those Lucid vehicles, which will consist of the automaker’s flagship Gravity SUV to begin, will hit public roads equipped with a Level 4 autonomous system called Nuro Driver. Nuro, the third partner in this equation, is a robotics company specializing in zero-occupant delivery vehicles, which garnered an existing partnership with Uber Eats as well as a “hefty” (yet undisclosed) investment from Uber Technologies.
Last month, Lucid delivered its first Gravity SUV to Nuro to begin the retrofitting process of the Nuro Driver system to support Uber’s hopes for a luxe robotaxi fleet. While the partners continue to work toward building an exciting new fleet of Lucid Gravity Robotaxis, Uber has shared the location where they will first go into service… Casper, Wyoming.
Just kidding!
It’s the San Francisco Bay Area, of course.
Uber to deploy Lucid Gravity EVs in Bay Area in 2026
Today’s update from Uber expands upon the ongoing partnership with Lucid Group and Nuro. According to the companies, the San Francisco Bay Area will be the first market where riders will see this next-generation autonomous robotaxi program in operation. That milestone is expected sometime in 2026.
Uber has shared that it has been updating policymakers and regulators at every level on the progress of its exclusive Lucid Robotaxis and continues to meet the operational requirements. Notably, Uber has shared that on-road development with the Lucid Gravity robotaxi engineering fleet is already underway in the Bay Area.
Furthermore, Nuro and Lucid intend to be operating over 100 Gravity robotaxis as part of the test fleet “in the coming months.” Lucid interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, spoke about today’s announcement:
Lucid has always celebrated its California roots, and we’re thrilled to make the San Francisco Bay Area the first market for our new robotaxi on the Uber platform, powered by the Nuro Driver. Beginning next year, riders will experience a level of convenience, safety, and comfort unlike anything else on the road. We can’t wait to bring this service to life and expand it to communities across the country.
To build this fleet of Uber-exclusive robotaxis, the required hardware will be integrated into Lucid Gravity SUVS while they are still on Lucid’s assembly line in Arizona. Those builds will then be integrated with Nuro’s proprietary software when Uber officially commissions them.
All eyes on 2026 as we now know that residents around the Bay Area will be able to hail a driverless Lucid Gravity through the Uber platform. I’m very much looking forward to seeing this fleet in action.
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