Elon Musk has reached a settlement in a $128 million lawsuit filed by four former top executives of Twitter, now rebranded as X. The case centered on severance payments the executives said Musk refused to provide after taking control of the platform in 2022.
Executives claim they were dismissed unfairly
The group, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, said Musk fired them without cause and denied them 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 settlement remain confidential. The lawsuit, filed last year, is among several legal actions tied to unpaid severance after Musk’s acquisition.
Lawyers remain silent on settlement
Attorneys for Musk, X, and the former executives declined to comment on the agreement. The four executives—Agrawal, former chief financial officer Ned Segal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and former general counsel Sean Edgett—argued they were owed one year’s salary and stock awards under a long-standing severance plan. They accused Musk of deliberately avoiding payments due to former employees.
Previous settlements involved thousands of workers
In August, Musk and X settled a separate lawsuit involving around 6,000 former employees who claimed they were collectively owed $500 million in severance. Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion after initially trying to withdraw from the deal. After the purchase closed, he swiftly removed top executives and cut more than half of the company’s workforce.
Executives allege Musk acted out of anger
The former executives claimed Musk was frustrated 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 ends one of Musk’s most high-profile legal disputes since taking control of X and highlights the continuing fallout from his management changes at the platform.
