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Elon Musk subpoenas Twitter whistleblower

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)

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — 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. 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.

Zatko’s whistleblower complaint to U.S. officials alleging Twitter misled regulators about its privacy and security protections.

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