Elon Musk has settled a $128 million lawsuit filed by four of Twitter’s former senior executives, now part of his rebranded company X. The lawsuit accused Musk of withholding severance payments after his 2022 takeover of the platform.
Former top team claims unfair dismissal
The executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, said Musk fired them without cause and denied them the compensation guaranteed in their contracts. In a recent court document, their attorneys stated, “The parties have reached a settlement, and the settlement requires certain conditions to be met in the near term.” They did not disclose the financial terms. The case, filed last year, is one of several legal disputes over unpaid severance following Musk’s acquisition.
Both sides stay silent on settlement details
Neither Musk’s legal team nor the attorneys representing the former executives have commented on the deal. The four executives—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 an existing severance plan. They accused Musk of refusing to pay what the company had long promised its employees.
Settlement follows earlier mass layoff lawsuit
In August, Musk and X settled another lawsuit involving about 6,000 former employees. Those workers said they were collectively owed $500 million in severance pay. Musk bought Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion after attempting to back out of the agreement. Once the deal was finalized, he swiftly dismissed the company’s top executives and cut over half of its workforce.
Executives allege Musk acted out of frustration
In their lawsuit, the former executives claimed Musk was angry about being forced to complete the $44 billion purchase. They said he used false misconduct accusations to justify firing them and to avoid paying their severance. The settlement ends one of Musk’s most high-profile legal battles since acquiring X and highlights the continuing fallout from his turbulent takeover of the social media giant.
