Courtroom sketch showing Sam Bankman Fried questioned by his attorney Mark Cohen. Judge Lewis Kaplan on the bench
Artist: Elizabeth Williams
Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand in a New York courtroom on Thursday, as he and his defense team auditioned their best legal material for U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.
The former crypto billionaire had originally been scheduled to testify before the jury, but the judge sent jurors home early to consider whether some aspects of Bankman-Fried’s planned testimony, related to legal advice he got while running FTX, would be admissible in court.
In a sort of mini-hearing within the trial, defense attorney Mark Cohen guided Bankman-Fried through a series of questions designed to showcase the defense’s strongest arguments of his innocence, including suggesting that he relied on FTX’s former chief regulatory officer and in-house attorney, Dan Friedberg, to guide some actions that the government claims are illegal.
Bankman-Fried faces seven criminal counts, including wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, that could land him in prison for more than 100 years if he is convicted at his trial in Manhattan federal court. Bankman-Fried, the son of two Stanford legal scholars, has pleaded not guilty in the case.
“Before the trial, I was convinced that SBF was headed to near-certain conviction on serious felony counts, and it was apparent to me that his defense team had not come up with anything that could derail that result,” said Renato Mariotti, a former prosecutor in the U.S. Justice Department’s Securities & Commodities Fraud Section and now a trial partner in Chicago with Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
“Nothing that has occurred during the trial has changed my view. The evidence of his guilt appears to be overwhelming,” added Mariotti.
In the last four weeks of trial, multiple members of the C-suite at crypto exchange FTX, and its sister hedge fund Alameda Research, have all singled out Bankman-Fried as the mastermind behind the scenes. Several of these witnesses have themselves pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who faces a maximum sentence of 110 years for crimes committed while she was the CEO of Alameda.
Prosecutors have also entered evidence to corroborate witness accounts, including encrypted Signal messages and other internal documents that appear to show Bankman-Fried orchestrating the spending of FTX customer money.
The defense’s case — which is comprised of Bankman-Fried’s upcoming testimony along with that of two witnesses who both wrapped in just over an hour on Thursday morning — hinges on whether the jury believes the defendant when he takes the stand.
“He has always been convinced that he’s the smartest guy in the room and that he can talk his way out of any problem,” continued Mariotti.
“But the biggest problem with SBF’s testimony will be SBF himself. Given that the core issue will be intent to defraud, SBF should be portraying himself as clueless, inattentive, and in over his head. But for years he had portrayed himself as a visionary genius, and I don’t expect that to change on the stand,” he said.
Defense struggles to land a blow
Judge Kaplan previously ruled that Bankman-Fried’s lawyers could not make a so-called advice of counsel argument in their opening remarks since it might risk prejudicing the jury.On Thursday, Kaplan sent the jury home early to reconsider in a closed-door session whether to allow this line of testimony.
Under questioning led by Cohen, Bankman-Fried appeared to place much of the criminal blame on FTX’s chief regulatory officer, Friedberg, as well as outside counsel Fenwick & West, which advised the crypto exchange. Bankman-Fried spoke about Friedberg’s active involvement in everything from the company-wide auto deletion policy on messaging apps like Signal, to the creation of Alameda’s North Dimension bank account, where billions of dollars worth of FTX customer money was funneled.
The former FTX chief also said that the hundreds of millions of dollars in personal loans to himself and other founders of the platform were structured through promissory notes drafted by his in-house legal team and discussed in concert with his general counsel and Friedberg. Having the blessing of his legal counsel was something that SBF said he “took comfort in.”
While taking the stand offers Bankman-Fried the opportunity to tell his side of the story to jurors, it also opens the door for federal prosecutors to go for the jugular in cross-examination. Following damning testimony from Bankman-Fried’s closest ex-confidantes and top deputies, defense attorneys for the FTX founder have failed to flip the narrative in cross-examining key witnesses or to undermine the most troubling allegations regarding their client.
Indeed, Bankman-Fried’s practice run on Thursday was tough to watch. While he came across as direct and credible in his direct examination, the grilling by prosecutors was aggressive and effective. At multiple points, the judge appeared exasperated by Bankman-Fried’s responses, once saying that the defendant had an “interesting way of answering questions.”
The defendant’s demeanor flipped 180 degrees when U.S. assistant attorney Danielle Sassoon began her questioning. He swiveled back and forth in his chair, nervously shook a piece of paper he held in his hands, repeatedly grabbed for his water bottle before responding, and skirted a lot of questions by saying he couldn’t recall what had happened.
Judge Kaplan interjected at one point, telling the defendant to “listen to the question and answer the question directly.”
On Friday morning, we’ll get a ruling from the judge on what’s admissible from the defense’s wish list of topics – as well as Bankman-Fried’s debut before the jury from the stand.
“Given that he appears headed for defeat, taking the stand can be a ‘Hail Mary’ of sorts,” said Mariotti.
“SBF will be hamstrung by his many prior statements, which could be used to impeach him. It will be difficult for SBF to weave his testimony around those prior statements.”
This week’s testimony is just the latest example of the defense team’s struggle to land a blow in the criminal fraud case.
Prosecutors spent four weeks of the trial walking former leaders of FTX and Alameda Research through specific actions taken by their boss that resulted in clients losing billions of dollars late last year.
In trying to poke holes in witness accounts, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have repeatedly jumped around, unable to maintain a consistent timeline or coherent argument, while also opening the door for witnesses to offer additional testimony in furtherance of what they’d previously told the jury.
The scattershot approach is potentially troubling for Bankman-Fried, who’s counting on his defense attorneys to keep him out of prison in what could be a life sentence if convicted. The central claim the defense has been unable to knock down is that Bankman-Fried knowingly used billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to pay for his lavish lifestyle, to make political donations and, most dramatically, to cover a gaping hole in Alameda’s books following the cratering of cryptocurrency prices last year.
Cohen, a co-founder of the New York law firm Cohen & Gresser, is being joined at trial by Christian Everdell, a member of the firm’s white collar defense team. Cohen, a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, started his firm 21 years ago and previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Everdell started at Cohen & Gresser in 2017 after almost a decade working as a prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.
The first 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup Edition 1 rolls off the assembly line at Factory ZERO (Source: GM)
Donald Trump signed two executive orders today that walked back parts of tariffs he previously imposed on US automakers ahead of a rally in Michigan to mark his first 100 days in office.
The Wall Street Journal first reported today in an exclusive that Trump was “expected to soften the impact of his automotive tariffs, preventing duties on foreign-made cars from stacking on top of other tariffs and easing some levies on car parts.”
Trump signed an executive order making sure the 25% tariffs on vehicles and certain auto parts won’t stack on top of existing aluminum, steel, or Canada and Mexico tariffs. He also gave automakers a credit to help blunt the impact of the 25% duties on imported parts that go into US-built cars.
Trump’s backpedal comes after weeks of meeting with automaker executives, and a week after a coalition that included GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai sent a letter urging him to drop tariffs on foreign auto parts due to land in May.
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American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC) president Matt Blunt today said in response to the executive orders, “American Automakers Ford, GM, and Stellantis appreciate the administration’s clarification that tariffs will not be layered on top of the existing Section 232 tariffs on autos and auto parts. Applying multiple tariffs to the same product or part was a significant concern for American automakers, and we are glad to see this addressed. We will review the details of the executive order closely to assess how effectively it will mitigate the impact of tariffs on American automakers, our domestic supply chains and ultimately American consumers.” The AAPC represents Ford, GM, and Stellantis.
Electrek’s Take
The 25% auto tariffs implemented under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act aren’t going anywhere, and most economists say that tariffs will raise car prices and slow auto sales. This White House Fact Sheet is titled, “President Donald J. Trump Incentivizes Domestic Automobile Production.” Where’s the incentive? US automakers are just getting hit with the stick once instead of twice, and they’re thanking Trump for it.
The carrot that worked as an incentive was Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, along with the stability that came with it. All this whiplash is terrible for the US and global economy.
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New data suggests that the Tesla Powerwall 3 is significantly disrupting the US solar inverter market.
The home battery pack’s integrated inverter is changing the game.
Tesla acquired its solar business when it bought SolarCity in a controversial deal due to Musk being a large shareholder of both Tesla and SolarCity, and Musk’s cousin led the latter.
The automaker kept the SolarCity operations going for a few years. In fact, it continued until after Tesla shareholders sued Musk over the acquisition, and Musk defended himself by claiming that SolarCity had become an integral part of Tesla.
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Shortly after he won the lawsuit, Tesla virtually stopped all operations that came from its SolarCity acquisition, which primarily consisted of residential solar financing and installations.
Tesla even stopped reporting solar deployment. The company’s energy business now consists almost entirely of Powerwall and Megapack deployments.
However, the launch of the Powerwall 3 has indirectly brought Tesla back into the solar business, as the home battery pack features an inverter that works for both solar and storage applications.
EnergySage is a company that matches solar installers with potential buyers, and as a result, it has a wealth of interesting data about the solar industry in the US. Today, it released its Spring 2025 Marketplace report.
In the report, EnergySage revealed that Tesla became the second-most quoted inverter brand in the second half of last year:
Tesla became the most quoted battery brand in H2 2024, occupying 63% of Marketplace share nationwide. Because the Powerwall 3 includes an integrated inverter, Tesla also became the second-most quoted inverter brand. With batteries increasingly being added to solar systems—the national battery attachment rate jumped to 45% in H2 2024, an all-time high—Tesla’s growth was a key driver of the low storage and solar prices seen on EnergySage. In 2025, we are examining whether brand backlash and equipment shortages will affect Tesla’s Marketplace share.
This is also a byproduct of the increased popularity of energy storage systems when deploying new solar systems.
In big solar markets like California and Texas, the majority of residential solar quotes are attached to batteries, and Tesla is not the top quoted brand, thanks to Powerwall 3:
Powerwall was already the preferred home battery pack for many homeowners, and the fact that it now includes a solar inverter has made it even more attractive, as most home energy storage systems in the US are being deployed along with rooftop solar.
The Powerwall 3’s solar inverter integration is pushing solar plus storage costs down quite a bit.
The popularity of the Powerwall 3 has particularly hurt Enphase, a leader in solar inverter. It had 73% of the US market in 2022, and now it is down to 53%.
Despite Tesla driving prices down, Powerwall 3 is not the cheapest battery pack available. Panasonic and EG4 batteries were both priced lower on a per kWh basis than Tesla’s in the second half of 2024, but Tesla won on cost when also replacing the solar inverter.
If you’re interested in installing solar panels and/or batteries for your home, we recommend using EnergySage. You will be able to get quotes without any hassle and only talk to someone when you are ready to move forward. Within minutes, you can get on the path to producing your own power with solar and battery storage, including with Powerwall.
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Here’s something most people don’t know: In the US, switching to solar and battery-based energy can actually save you money on taxes. And it’s not a future promise – it’s happening right now. Under the US Residential Clean Energy Credit, BLUETTI’s eligible solar systems and home batteries qualify for a 30% federal tax credit through 2032. That means with the right model, like the AC500 Home Battery Backup, you’re not only saving on electricity, you could also get a portion of your purchase back during tax season.
Meanwhile, gas generators are quietly costing more
There’s a reason so many people have relied on gas generators: they’re familiar, accessible, and have served us well for years. But as fuel prices continue to rise and usage becomes more frequent, the hidden costs of gas generators are quietly piling up:
Ongoing fuel expenses, especially during summer or storm seasons
Routine maintenance and part replacements
Stricter regulations in certain areas limiting usage times
Noise complaints and environmental concerns
It’s not about shaming these tools—it’s about recognizing when the cost-to-benefit ratio starts to shift.
Not ready to give up your generator? Start small with the BLUETTI AC60
The move to clean energy doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Sometimes, the right first step is simply trying a lightweight alternative, like the AC60 Portable Power Station (Pioneer 50).
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Compact and powerful: 600W output (1000W surge) covers most outdoor needs
Historically affordable: Only $269 after subsidy
Fast charging: 80% charge within an hour
IP65-rated for water and dust resistance – ideal for outdoor life
Backed by a 6-year warranty, cutting down on waste and replacement costs
Expandable to 2,015Wh capacity for powering phones, laptops, and more
Whether you’re into camping, road trips, or just want something for light backup at home, portable power stations like AC60 are an easy way to test the waters – no big commitment needed.
Need something stronger? Apex 300 is built to last
For those looking to level up their home battery backup or long-term savings, the Apex 300 offers a durable, future-forward alternative. With second-gen EV-grade batteries rated for 6,000+ cycles, this power station can last up to 17 years – nearly twice as long as typical models.
More reasons why Apex 300 stands out:
Ultra-efficient 20W AC idle drain extends fridge runtime by up to 24 hours and boosts CPAP usage by 2.5x compared to typical units
Built-in 120V/240V dual output with 12,000W bypass that powers 99% of home appliances, even a Tesla EV
2-year savings sprint when paired with one Solar X 4K Charge Controller for a massive 6400W solar input
Whisper-quiet at 40dB, no fumes, no fuel
Time-of-use savings made easy: Easily schedule and monitor energy usage with a user-friendly app and a clear, intuitive LED screen
Expandable ecosystem: Add extra B300K batteries or a smart 700W Hub D1 to grow your setup as your needs evolve, from whole-home backup to off-grid RV power
This isn’t about replacing your gas generator overnight. It’s about introducing a better Plan B that’s cleaner, quieter, and built for the long haul.
Thinking about a cleaner future? BLUETTI is offering a little help
In honor of Earth Day, BLUETTI has launched a newClean Energy Incentive Program. Gas generator owners around the world can submit basic info about their devices and select a clean power product to receive an exclusive subsidy.
The compact AC60 and other select models are already available at subsidized prices through BLUETTI’s Clean Energy Incentive Program – a practical step designed to support a smoother, more affordable transition to greener living.
Meanwhile, early access to the all-new Apex 300 Portable Power Station is now open through May 19, ahead of its official launch on May 20 on Indiegogo.
Going green isn’t about rushing
It’s about small, thoughtful choices that build toward something better – for your home, your wallet, and the planet. BLUETTI believes real change happens step by step, just like the LAFF (Light An African Family) Initiative. By walking the same path as those in need, the team can better understand and manage which solutions will most effectively help families who need affordable, sustainable energy.
So even if your gas generator still works just fine, it might be worth looking at a smarter backup. The future doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. It can start with one quiet step with BLUETTI’s solutions, and this simple step could lead to a brighter, more sustainable future for everyone.
About BLUETTI
BLUETTI is a dedicated advocate for sustainability, integrating ESG principles throughout product design and corporate initiatives. Through impactful projects like LAAF (Light An African Family), BLUETTI provides affordable, sustainable energy solutions to communities across Africa. By partnering with Leave No Trace, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, BLUETTI supports responsible outdoor recreation through clean energy solutions that minimize environmental footprints. This blend of craftsmanship, reliability, and a focus on real-world needs is what makes BLUETTI trusted in over 110 countries and regions.