In a San Francisco court, former Twitter executives, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal, filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, seeking over $128 million in unpaid severance.
Accusing Musk of firing them without cause, the executives claim he displayed a “cavalier attitude” towards financial obligations.
Under Musk’s leadership, the plaintiffs allege that Twitter has become a “scofflaw,” neglecting responsibilities to employees, landlords, vendors, and others. The lawsuit, spanning 39 pages, outlines Musk’s dismissal of the executives—Agrawal, ex-CFO Ned Segal, ex-chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and former General Counsel Sean Edgett—and asserts their entitlement to one year’s salary and stock options.
Musk terminated Agrawal, Gadde, and Segal after finalizing his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, now rebranded as X, in late October 2022. The acquisition followed a contentious legal battle between Musk and Twitter’s top executives, leading to the court’s intervention to ensure the acquisition’s terms were honored.
The former executives claim Musk fabricated a “fake” instance of gross negligence and willful misconduct—Twitter paying fees to outside lawyers involved in closing the acquisition—to evade severance payments. They argue that if Musk believed these payments were improper, he should have sought to terminate the deal rather than withholding severance.
X, formerly Twitter, is currently grappling with three additional lawsuits from former employees seeking substantial severance packages, including class action suits asserting at least $500 million is owed to rank-and-file workers. The social media giant is also facing legal action for allegedly failing to compensate a former public relations firm, landlords, vendors, and consultants.
As of now, X has not provided a comment in response to the lawsuit. The situation adds to the challenges for the company, already under legal scrutiny for various financial disputes. Musk’s controversial approach to severance payments and the aftermath of Twitter’s acquisition cast a shadow on the future of X, leaving the social media platform at a crucial juncture. The outcome of these legal battles could significantly impact the company’s reputation and financial standing.
This unfolding legal drama underscores the complex dynamics surrounding high-profile acquisitions and the ensuing consequences for both executives and the companies involved. As the courtroom saga unfolds, industry watchers and the public eagerly await further developments that could shape the narrative of Twitter’s transition to X under Musk’s stewardship.
