DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge on Tuesday ordered attorneys for billionaire Elon Musk to create a log of certain documents that relate to former Twitter security chief Peiter “Mudge” Zatko but not directly to Zatko’s whistleblower complaint against the social media giant.
The ruling came near the start of a three-hour hearing on various pretrial disputes between attorneys for Musk and Twitter over requested document disclosures. The two sides will face off in a trial scheduled to start Oct. 17 that will decide whether Twitter can force Musk to carry through with his agreed $44 billion acquisition of the company.
Scheduled depositions of Musk and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal on Monday were postponed. Musk is now scheduled to be deposed in Delaware on Oct. 6 and Oct. 7, according to a Twitter court filing late Monday.
Musk, the world’s richest man, agreed in April to buy Twitter and take it private, offering $54.20 a share and vowing to loosen the company’s policing of content and to root out fake accounts. In July, Musk indicated that he wanted to back away from the deal, claiming Twitter had failed to provide him enough information about the number of fake accounts on its platform.
The hearing first focused on issues related to Twitter’s former security chief Peiter Zatko, who filed a whistleblower case against Twitter in July alleging a number of shortcomings in Twitter’s privacy and security procedures. Musk’s attorneys contend that Twitter needed his consent before paying Zatko $7.75 in severance but failed to do so.