Elon Musk dragged to court by Twitter’s ex-bosses over $128m severance snub

Elon Musk is facing a legal battle with Twitter’s former top dogs, who claim he owes them a whopping $128m (£100m) in unpaid severance.

The four executives, including former chief Parag Agrawal, said Mr Musk axed them as he took over Twitter, now X, “without reason, then cooked up fake cause” to dodge paying them the money.

They said the move was part of a “bigger scheme” of stiffing former staff what they deserved.

Mr Musk did not respond right away.

Mr Agrawal filed the lawsuit with former chief financial officer Ned Segal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and former general counsel Sean Edgett.

In the lawsuit, they argue that under an old severance plan they are entitled to one year’s salary and stock awards. That would amount to more than $57m for Mr Agrawal; more than $44m for Mr Segal; more than $20m for Ms Gadde; and more than $6m for Mr Edgett.

Mr Musk bought Twitter in 2022 for $44bn. The billionaire tried to back out of the deal, but he eventually went through with the controversial agreement under threat of a lawsuit.

He then moved within minutes of the deal closing to fire key leaders, which included the four executives.

According to the lawsuit, the four men were told they had been sacked for “gross negligence and willful misconduct”. Examples that were given included signing off on retention bonuses for Twitter employees, thousands of whom were also canned in the aftermath of the takeover.

But the lawsuit alleges Mr Musk was fuming about being forced to complete the purchase. It also claims he has tried to evade paying the millions he owed the leaders, ignoring the severance plans that laid out compensation if the executives lost their jobs without cause.

The two sides have been squabbling over the money ever since and have now run out of the administrative process, the lawsuit said.

In the lawsuit, however, the executives accused Mr Musk of turning the company into an entity that breaks the law and does not pay its debts.

“Musk doesn’t pay his bills, thinks the rules don’t apply to him, and uses his wealth and power to bulldoze anyone who disagrees with him,” according to the filing in federal court in California.

Last year, a former human resources officer at the platform filed a class action lawsuit accusing the company of failing to pay roughly $500m (£385m) in severance pay owed to former staff.

The roughly 20 people working for the company in Ghana at the time of the takeover, which took place roughly 16 months ago, said that they had only recently received the money they were due.

The four executives’ lawsuit has tried to paint Mr Musk as an individual who avoids paying his debts and treats his employees poorly.

“Musk’s refusal to pay … is part of a bigger scheme of refusing to pay Twitter’s former employees the benefits and other compensation they are due,” Mr Agrawal and his former colleagues alleged in the lawsuit.