Elon Musk’s tenure at Twitter commenced with a flurry of terminations, notably targeting several top executives. Former CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and former general counsel Sean Edgett have now initiated legal action against Musk and the company, now identified as X, alleging unpaid severance totaling over $128 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Under Musk’s leadership, X’s reputation for withholding owed payments has become somewhat emblematic, a facet referenced in the lawsuit alongside a link to a webpage monitoring lawsuits against Twitter for non-payment. Notably, the individual operating this site has reportedly been banned by X.
In a twist of fate, the very executives instrumental in facilitating Musk’s $44 billion acquisition are now asserting that his objective was to deprive them of $200 million before their stock options vested. They cite Elon Musk’s own words, as documented in Walter Isaacson’s biography, Elon Musk, to substantiate their claims.
The lawsuit highlights an excerpt from the biography, depicting a conversation between Musk and his lawyer, Alex Spiro, wherein they allegedly discuss preventing Agrawal’s resignation by terminating him preemptively, potentially circumventing the need to fulfill his severance package.
Contrary to assertions made by X regarding negligence, waste, and misconduct, the lawsuit contends that such actions were sanctioned by the company’s board and were essential to meet obligations, such as paying legal fees amounting to $90 million incurred during Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.