Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of Theranos, took the stand Wednesday as her company’s trial in federal court begins for a second day.
Tuesday’s testimony, which led to what was widely seen as Holmes’ own confession to misleading investors, began around 10 a.m. and wrapped around 5 p.m. It was significantly more focused on Theranos’ financials and problems with the company’s blood-testing technologies, and didn’t touch on “The Ultimate Question,” the case the defense decided to bring forward in court: If any jurors heard voices other than Holmes, or saw what Holmes told them, was that enough for them to convict the company’s founder?
“If you understood me, did I ever make a false statement to you?” Holmes asked in court Wednesday morning.
When the judge said he didn’t, Holmes told the jury, “I may have … misled you.”
The hearing, which will conclude Wednesday, was more about showing how much Holmes did know about everything going on at Theranos and more about shedding light on Theranos’ three to five year timeline. Holmes described the vision for the company, saying she wanted the company to “change the world” with the technology. At the time of the meeting with Steve Liberman of New Enterprise Associates, Theranos was developing a futuristic technology that could test people’s blood for everything from heart attacks to cancer, Holmes said. Theranos claims it will provide thousands of Americans with affordable access to blood tests.