Elon Musk has reached a settlement in a $128 million lawsuit filed by four former senior executives of Twitter, now rebranded as X. The case centered on severance payments the executives said Musk refused to pay after his 2022 takeover.
Executives claim they were dismissed unfairly
The former leaders, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal, argued Musk fired them without cause and denied the severance promised under their contracts. In a court filing, their lawyers wrote, “The parties have reached a settlement, and the settlement requires certain conditions to be met in the near term.” The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The lawsuit, filed last year, is one of several legal challenges tied to unpaid severance following Musk’s acquisition.
Lawyers provide no comment
Attorneys for Musk, X, and the former executives have not responded to requests for comment. 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 an established severance plan. They accused Musk of intentionally avoiding payments owed to departing employees.
Prior settlements involved thousands of employees
In August, Musk and X settled a separate lawsuit involving around 6,000 former employees who said 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 swiftly removed top executives and cut more than half of the workforce.
Executives allege Musk acted out of frustration
The former leaders claimed Musk was angry about being forced to complete the $44 billion acquisition. They said he falsely accused them of misconduct to justify firing them and avoid paying their severance. The settlement closes one of Musk’s most prominent legal disputes and underscores the lasting consequences of his management changes at X.
