WILMINGTON: A trial over Elon Musk’s bid to end his $44 billion deal for Twitter Inc. should be delayed by several weeks to allow the billionaire to investigate a whistleblower’s claims about security on the social media platform, Musk’s lawyer told a judge on Tuesday.
“Doesn’t justice demand a few weeks to look into this?” said Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, at a hearing in Wilmington, Delaware.
Last month, whistleblower allegations became public that provided Musk, the world’s richest person, fresh ammunition to bolster what legal experts said was a long-shot attempt to walk away from the deal without paying a $1 billion termination fee.
Twitter’s former head of security, Peiter Zatko, a famed hacker known as “Mudge,” said in a complaint to regulators that the company falsely represented that it had a solid data security plan.
Twitter has dismissed Zatko’s allegations as a “false narrative” and its lawyer accused the billionaire on Tuesday of seizing on the whistleblower allegations to cover up the fact that he supposedly rushed in to buying the company without assessing the risks.
“Mr. Musk is blaming Twitter for his failing to do customary due diligence,” said William Savitt, an attorney for Twitter. He urged the judge to prevent Musk from adding whistleblower claims to his lawsuit but said if allowed, the five-day trial should begin on Oct. 17 as scheduled.
Savitt read an early May message from Musk to a banker that turned up in the litigation in which the billionaire wrote “it won’t make sense to buy Twitter if we’re heading into World War III.” Savitt said it was evidence that Musk is looking for any way out of the deal and his initial claims about bots and fake accounts were merely a pretext to end the deal.
Twitter and Musk have sued each other. The company wants Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware’s Court of Chancery to order Musk to buy the company for the $54.20 per share he agreed to in April.
Shares of Twitter ended Tuesday trading at $38.65 per share, up slightly.
McCormick ended Tuesday’s hearing without saying when she would rule.
Musk, who is also chief executive of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc, initially countersued Twitter for misleading him about the amount of fake or bot accounts on the platform, which he said allowed him to walk away from the deal.
Musk’s lawyer urges judge to delay Twitter trial due to whistleblower
https://arab.news/gs5zv
Musk’s lawyer urges judge to delay Twitter trial due to whistleblower
- Twitter claims Musk is trying to walk away from the deal because of buyers remorse, and said Musk pressured bankers to delay the acquisition over war concerns
Bondi Beach attack hero says wanted to protect ‘innocent people’
DUBAI: Bondi Beach shooting hero Ahmed Al Ahmed recalled the moment he ran toward one of the attackers and wrenched his shotgun away, saying the only thing he had in mind was to stop the assailant from “killing more innocent people.”
Al-Ahmad’s heroism was widely acclaimed in Australia when he tackled and disarmed gunman Sajid Akram who fired at Jewish people attending a Hanukkah event on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.
“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News in an interview on Monday.
“I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.”
In footage viewed by millions of people, Al Ahmed was seen ducking between parked cars as the shooting unfolded, then wresting a gun from one of the assailants.
He was shot several times in the shoulder as a result and underwent several rounds of surgery.
“I jumped in his back, hit him and … hold him with my right hand and start to say a word like, you know, to warn him, ‘Drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing’,” Al Ahmed said.
“I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help,” Al Ahmed told the television network.
“That’s my soul asked me to do that, and everything in my heart, and my brain, everything just worked, you know, to manage and to save the people’s life,” he said.
EXCLUSIVE: Ahmed al Ahmed, the man hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen behind an antisemitic attack on Australia's Bondi Beach earlier this month, is speaking out in the aftermath of the massacre.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 28, 2025
"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry still for the lost." pic.twitter.com/gFUfJvv7c6
Al Ahmed was at the beach getting a cup of coffee when the shooting occurred.
He is a father of two who emigrated to Australia from Syria in 2007, and works as a fruit seller.
Local media reported that the Australian government has fast-tracked and granted a number of visas for Al Ahmed’s family following his act of bravery.
“Ahmed has shown the courage and values we want in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody on charges including terrorism and 15 murders, as well as committing a “terrorist act” and planting a bomb with intent to harm.
(with AFP)
