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 focused on severance payments the executives said Musk refused to pay after his 2022 takeover.
Executives claim they were dismissed without cause
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 agreement were not disclosed. The lawsuit, filed last year, is among several legal challenges over unpaid severance following Musk’s acquisition.
Legal teams decline 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 a long-standing severance plan. They accused Musk of deliberately avoiding payments owed to departing employees.
Prior settlements involved thousands of staff
In August, Musk and X settled another lawsuit involving roughly 6,000 former employees who claimed they were collectively owed $500 million in severance. Musk purchased Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion after initially attempting to back out. 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 said Musk was angry about being forced to complete the $44 billion acquisition. 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 disputes and highlights the ongoing impact of his management changes at X.
