Elon Musk subpoenas Twitter whistleblower ahead of trial

FILE - Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks before unveiling the Model Y at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, Calif., March 14, 2019. Musk's legal team is demanding to hear from a whistleblowing former Twitter executive who could help bolster Musk's case for backing out of a $44 billion deal to buy the social media company. Twitter's former security chief Peiter Zatko received a subpoena on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, from Musk's team, according to Zatko's lawyer and court records. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) (Jae C. Hong, Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

WILMINGTON, Del. – Elon Musk's legal team is demanding to hear from Twitter's whistleblowing former security chief, who could help bolster Musk's case for backing out of a $44 billion deal to buy the social media company.

Former Twitter executive Peiter Zatko — also known by his hacker handle “Mudge” — received a subpoena Saturday from Musk’s team, according to Zatko's lawyer and court records.

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The billionaire Tesla CEO has spent months alleging that the company he agreed to acquire undercounted its fake and spam accounts — and that he shouldn’t have to consummate the deal as a result.

Zatko's whistleblower complaint to U.S. officials alleging Twitter misled regulators about its privacy and security protections — and its ability to detect and root out fake accounts — might play into Musk’s hands in an upcoming trial scheduled for Oct. 17 in Delaware.

Zatko served as Twitter’s head of security until he was fired early this year.