Elon Musk and X/Twitter were sued for $128 million by former CEO Parag Agrawal and other executives over alleged unpaid severance.
As reported by Engadget, the lawsuit references the turbulent takeover that saw Musk attempt to back out of the $44 billion deal before he was sued to force the acquisition. It says Musk has “special ire” for Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and general counsel Sean Edgett, who were all fired upon the takeover’s completion, allegedly because of the role they played in the lawsuit that stopped Musk from backing out.
The lawsuit claims Agrawal is entitled to $57.4 million in severance benefits, Segal is entitled to $44.5 million, Gadde is entitled to $20 million, and Edgett is entitled to $6.8 million, totalling about $128 million.
“Musk doesn’t pay his bills, believes the rules don’t apply to him, and uses his wealth and power to run roughshod over anyone who disagrees with him,” the lawsuit claims. “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.”
It also cites Walter Isaacson’s Musk biography, which claims Musk bragged about a $200 million saving move that saw him rush to close the acquisition a day early to fire the executives before their final stock options were set to reach their full value.
X/Twitter has undergone myriad transformations, including a full rebrand, since Musk acquired it in October 2022. Perhaps the biggest change is the loss of advertising support from major companies including Disney, Warner Bros., and PlayStation, however, which all reduced their presence on the platform in November 2023. This came after Musk backed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on November 16.
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Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Jessica Roberts is a seasoned business writer who deciphers the intricacies of the corporate world. With a focus on finance and entrepreneurship, she provides readers with valuable insights into market trends, startup innovations, and economic developments.
