Elon Musk claims Twitter officials ordered whistleblower to destroy evidence

Tesla billionaire’s lawyers seek a sanction on Twitter’s attorneys

Elon Musk has claimed that Twitter officials ordered the company’s former executive and whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko to destroy evidence of the company’s security flaws.

The Tesla chief’s legal team accused Twitter of making Mr Zatko destroy evidence as part of a condition of the $7.8m severance package he received, a court filing made public on Monday revealed.

“Twitter negotiated a unique ‘severance package’ with Mr Zatko in June 2022 that was plainly intended to procure Mr Zatko’s silence and prevent him from coming forward with his whistleblower disclosures,” one of Mr Musk’s lawyers noted in the court filing.