Elon Musk: Twitter Ordered Whistleblower To Eliminate Critical Evidence After Failing 'To Buy His Silence'

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk reportedly accused Twitter Inc TWTR of asking whistleblower Peiter "Mudge" Zatko to destroy evidence just before he reinstated his offer to purchase the social media platform.

What Happened: Zatko, a former head of security at Twitter, said he burned 10 handwritten notebooks and deleted 100 computer files at the urging of managers as a part of his separation deal, court filings seen by Bloomberg reveal.

“Twitter’s attempt to buy Mr. Zatko’s silence failed, but Twitter achieved its secondary aim of ensuring Mr. Zatko’s corroborating evidence would never come to light,” said a lawyer for Musk, in the filing unsealed Monday, according to Bloomberg.

Twitter did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.

Why It Matters: The notebooks allegedly burned by Zatko contained notes that he kept in meetings with his counterparts during a year-long stint as Twitter’s security chief, reported Bloomberg, citing the filings.

Last month, Zatko appeared before the Senate and mentioned the presence of a Chinese agent on the payroll of Twitter. He said it led to a big “internal conundrum” at the company.

It was reported in late August that Musk had subpoenaed Zatko seeking documents and communications on Twitter’s spam and alleged security vulnerabilities.

Meanwhile, the judge in the lawsuit — which arose after Musk first abandoned his buyout of Twitter for $44 billion — has granted the Tesla CEO a stay until Oct. 28 to close his acquisition.

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