Tesla’s owner relies on Peiter “Mudge” Zatko’s allegations to support a countersuit against Twitter

According to a court document filed on Thursday, billionaire Elon Musk claimed Twitter Inc. committed fraud by hiding severe weaknesses in the social media company’s data security, which the businessman claimed should have allowed him to terminate his $44 billion contract for the company.

The U-term caused a contentious court battle in which Twitter’s board vigorously contested Musk’s claims and sought to compel the billionaire to follow by the merger agreement’s provisions, which included a $1 billion termination fee. On October 17, a five-day trial is due to start. Musk will argue against both the purchase and the termination fee, which Twitter is requesting be set at $54.20 per share.

Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, a former head of security for Twitter and a longstanding industry figure, has made further accusations in response to Musk’s first assertions of fake users, which Twitter has categorically denied.

According to Twitter, it looked into Zatko’s allegations internally and found them to be false. According to the company, Zatko was let go for subpar work. The whistleblower charges that Musk included into his case were either not grounds for terminating the deal agreement or did not fit the criteria for fraud, according to Twitter’s attorneys, who testified as such in court.