Judge denies Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s request to delay Twitter trial, but will allow use of whistle-blower claims

Twitter sued Musk, asking the Delaware court to force him to go through with the deal he made in April to buy the company. A trial is set for October 17

Musk’s legal team has argued allegations made by Peiter Zatko to US officials may help bolster the Tesla CEO’s claims that Twitter misled him

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Elon Musk will be able to include new evidence from a Twitter whistleblower as he fights to get out of his US$44 billion deal to buy the social media company, but Musk won’t be able to delay a high-stakes October trial over the dispute, a judge ruled on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:00am, 8 Sep 2022Updated: 2:22am, 8 Sep 2022

Elon Musk’s can use a whistle-blower’s claims in his legal case against Twitter Inc but the billionaire cannot delay the trial over his attempt to walk away from his US$44 billion deal for the company, a judge ruled on Wednesday.

“I am convinced that even four weeks’ delay would risk further harm to Twitter,” wrote Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware’s Court of Chancery, in affirming the trial will start next month.

Shares of Twitter rose about 4 per cent in early Wednesday trading to US$40.15.

“We are hopeful that winning the motion to amend takes us one step closer to the truth coming out in that courtroom,” said Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk, in a statement.

Musk’s legal team argued on Tuesday that justice demanded delaying the five-day trial so Musk could investigate claims by whistle-blower Peiter Zatko, known as “Mudge”, that Twitter hid weaknesses in its security and data privacy.

Musk’s initial case against Twitter claimed the company misrepresented the prevalence of spam or bot accounts on the platform.