Elon Musk’s lawyers argued that the recent whistle-blower report by Pieter Zatko, Twitter’s former security chief, provided additional reasons for Mr. Musk to walk away from his agreement to buy Twitter for $44 billion and asked to postpone his legal battle with the company while the claims were investigated.

The requests, revealed in regulatory and legal filings on Tuesday, are an effort by the billionaire to incorporate Mr. Zatko’s allegations in the coming trial that will determine whether Mr. Musk must complete the purchase. On Tuesday, Mr. Musk asked a judge to delay the trial for one month while his lawyers investigate the whistle-blower claims.

Mr. Zatko has accused Twitter of years of “material misrepresentation and omissions” about security and privacy protections built into its platform. Twitter executives have strongly rejected Mr. Zatko’s claims.

Twitter is suing Mr. Musk to force him to close the transaction, with a trial at the Delaware Chancery Court scheduled for October. In a court filing Tuesday, lawyers for Mr. Musk proposed moving the trial to November. The court has not yet ruled on whether to grant the request.

Twitter said that both Mr. Musk’s prior and new attempts to exit the deal were “invalid and wrongful” and that it would continue to push him to buy the company at the agreed-upon price.

Although both Mr. Musk and Mr. Zatko have accused Twitter of fraud, their allegations are not the same, making it difficult for Mr. Musk to include Mr. Zatko’s...

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