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 reason
The group, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, argued Musk fired them unfairly and denied the severance guaranteed 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 were not disclosed. The lawsuit, filed last year, is among several legal challenges over 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 on the settlement. 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 deliberately avoiding payments owed to former employees.
Mass layoffs triggered prior settlements
In August, Musk and X settled a separate 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 of the deal. Once the acquisition closed, he swiftly removed top executives and cut over half of the workforce.
Executives allege Musk acted out of frustration
The former leaders claimed Musk was frustrated about being forced to finalize the $44 billion acquisition. They said he falsely accused them of misconduct to justify firing them and avoid paying their severance. The settlement ends one of Musk’s most high-profile legal disputes and highlights the ongoing consequences of his management changes at X.
