Ex-Twitter executives sue Elon Musk for $128 million in severance pay

A group of former Twitter executives whom Elon Musk fired after purchasing the company sued him on Monday, claiming he has withheld $128 million in severance payments from them.

Among the plaintiffs are former CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, legal and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, and general counsel Sean Edgett, the New York Times reported. After purchasing the company, Musk argued he could fire them "for cause" to avoid making the severance payments. Each had provisions in their contracts entitling them to severance should Twitter cease to be a public company, the suit alleged.

"This is the Musk playbook: to keep the money he owes other people, and force them to sue him. Even in defeat, Musk can impose delay, hassle and expense on others less able to afford it," attorneys for the ex-executives wrote in the suit.

Musk completed his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in October of 2022 and subsequently eliminated the majority of the platform's staff, including its leadership. Last year, he rebranded the company as "X."

"Under Musk's control, Twitter has become a scofflaw, stiffing employees, landlords, vendors and others," the suit further claimed, per Fox Business. "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."

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the suit names Musk, X (formerly Twitter), and certain SpaceX employees as defendants. Said additional plaintiffs had served as interim human resources personnel for the firm after the takeover.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.