Elon Musk Allowed to Amend Twitter Countersuit to Add Whistleblower Claims

The Delaware judge steering the lawsuit over Twitter Inc. and Elon Musk’s stalled $44 billion takeover said the billionaire chief executive of Tesla Inc. can amend his countersuit to incorporate allegations from a whistleblower complaint by the social-media company’s former head of security.

The judge denied Mr. Musk’s request to push back a trial over the deal in Delaware Chancery Court to November from Oct. 17.

In a decision Wednesday, the judge cited a Chancery Court rule in which leave to amend should be “freely given when justice so requires.”

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick made the decision after an hourslong hearing Tuesday covering several pending legal issues in the case. Twitter and Mr. Musk closed the hearing with oral arguments regarding their position on whether to include allegations by the whistleblower, Peiter Zatko, who was fired by Twitter earlier this year.

“I am reticent to say more concerning the merits of the counterclaims at this posture before they have been fully litigated,” Chancellor McCormick said in her ruling. “The world will have to wait for the post-trial decision.”