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 claimed Musk refused to pay after his 2022 takeover.
Executives say they were dismissed without cause
The former leaders, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal, argued Musk fired them unfairly and blocked severance guaranteed under 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 terms were not disclosed. The lawsuit, filed last year, is one of several legal challenges linked to unpaid severance following Musk’s acquisition.
Lawyers provide no comment on settlement
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—claimed 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 former employees.
Previous settlements involved thousands of workers
In August, Musk and X settled another lawsuit involving roughly 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. Once the deal closed, he quickly removed top executives and cut more than half of the workforce.
Executives claim Musk acted out of frustration
The former leaders said Musk was furious about being forced to finalize the $44 billion acquisition. They alleged he falsely accused them of misconduct to justify their firing and avoid paying their severance. The settlement ends one of Musk’s most prominent legal battles and highlights the ongoing fallout from his management overhaul at X.
