Elon Musk subpoenas Twitter whistleblower
STORY: Elon Musk has subpoenaed a Twitter whistleblower.
The Tesla CEO wants documents and communications on the company's spam and alleged security vulnerabilities.
That's according to a U.S. court filing on Monday (August 29).
It comes as the billionaire tries to end his agreement to buy the social media site for $44 billion.
Musk wants information from whistleblower Peiter Zatko, mostly about how Twitter measures spam accounts.
Musk said he is walking away from the buyout because Twitter misled him and regulators about the true number of spam or bot accounts on the platform.
He has also sought documents and communications about alleged attempts to hide security weaknesses and compliance with a 2011 Federal Trade Commission agreement.
A spokesman for Twitter declined to comment.
The whistleblower ended his time as the head of Twitter's security earlier this year.
He said in a complaint made public last week that the company falsely claimed it has a solid security plan.
A Twitter attorney also said last week that Musk's focus on spam as a way to end the deal was 'legally irrelevant'.
That was because Twitter always said its spam counts were only estimates, and not binding representations.
The two sides have sued each other and are heading for a five-day trial on October 17th.
Twitter wants a court to order Musk to buy the company for the agreed price.
