Four former top Twitter executives have sued Elon Musk for allegedly withholding more than $128 million of their severance pay after firing them when he acquired the company.
Former Twitter Executives Sue Elon Musk
In the 39-page lawsuit filed in a San Francisco court on Monday, the Twitter executives claimed that Elon Musk fired them without a reason just minutes after he completed his acquisition of Twitter, which he later rebranded as X.
According to Twitter's former CEO Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, Chief Legal Counsel Vijaya Gadde, and General Counsel Sean Edgett, Musk falsely accused them of misconduct and forced them out of Twitter after they sued the tech billionaire for trying to withdraw on his offer to buy the company.
"They (plaintiffs) appropriately and vigorously represented the interests of Twitter's public shareholders throughout Musk's wrongful attempt to renege on the deal. For their efforts, Musk vowed a lifetime of revenge," the lawsuit read.
"As he was closing the acquisition, Musk told his official biographer, Walter Isaacson, that he would 'hunt every single one of' Twitter's executives and directors' till the day they die'," it added.
Elon Musk Accused of Making Up 'Fake Cause' to Fire the Former Twitter Executives
The plaintiffs also claimed that Elon Musk then denied them the severance pay they had been promised for years before he bought Twitter and took control in October 2022, Reuters reported.
"Under Twitter's severance plans, if an eligible executive is terminated without cause following a change in control, they are entitled to severance benefits," the lawsuit read. According to The Hill, the "cause" on the severance plans was narrowly defined, like being convicted of a felony, "gross negligence," or "willful misconduct."
The plaintiffs said each of them is owed one year's salary plus stock options valued at the acquisition price of Twitter. According to the lawsuit, Agrawal is entitled to $57.4 million in severance benefits, Segal is $44.5 million, Gadde $20 million, and Edgett $6.8 million.
"Because Musk decided he didn't want to pay Plaintiffs' severance benefits, he simply fired them without reason, then made up fake cause and appointed employees of his various companies to uphold his decision," the lawsuit noted.
"He claimed in his termination letters that each Plaintiff committed 'gross negligence' and 'willful misconduct' without citing a single fact in support of this claim," it added.
The former executives claimed this was "the Musk playbook" to "keep the money he owes other people."
X is already facing two proposed class action lawsuits claiming it owes rank-and-file workers laid off after Musk acquired the company at least $500 million in severance. In a third lawsuit, six former senior managers made similar claims. The company has denied wrongdoing.
Join the Conversation