Elon Musk has settled a $128 million lawsuit filed by four former senior executives of Twitter, now rebranded as X. The case revolved around unpaid severance that the executives said Musk refused to pay after his 2022 takeover.
Executives claim they were dismissed without reason
The group, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, argued Musk fired them unfairly and denied the severance promised in their contracts. In a court filing, their lawyers stated, “The parties have reached a settlement, and the settlement requires certain conditions to be met in the near term.” The financial details of the settlement remain confidential. The lawsuit, filed last year, is among several legal challenges over unpaid severance following Musk’s acquisition.
Lawyers provide no comment
Attorneys for Musk, X, and the former executives have not commented on the settlement. The plaintiffs—Agrawal, former chief financial officer Ned Segal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and former general counsel Sean Edgett—said they were owed one year’s salary and stock awards under a long-standing severance plan. They accused Musk of deliberately avoiding payments owed to employees after the acquisition.
Previous settlements involved thousands of employees
In August, Musk and X settled another lawsuit involving about 6,000 former employees who claimed they were collectively owed $500 million in severance. Musk purchased Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion after initially trying to back out of the deal. Once the acquisition closed, he immediately removed top executives and cut more than half of the workforce.
Executives allege Musk acted out of frustration
The former leaders said Musk was angry about being forced to complete the $44 billion purchase. They claimed he falsely accused them of misconduct to justify firing them and avoid paying their severance. The settlement closes one of Musk’s most high-profile legal battles and underscores the lasting effects of his management changes at X.
