San Jose, Mar. 5, (dpa/GNA) – Four former top Twitter executives who were fired by billionaire Elon Musk when he bought the social media company are suing him for more than $128 million in severance pay, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday in a California court.
Former chief executive officer Parag Agrawal, former chief financial officer Ned Segal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and former general counsel Sean Edgett claim that Musk fired them “without reason, then made up fake cause and appointed employees of his
various companies to uphold his decision,” according to the filing.
There was initially no response from Musk.
Musk bought Twitter, which he has since renamed X, in October 2022 for around $44 billion. Immediately after completing the takeover he fired the four executives.
According to the complaint, filed in a northern California federal court, Musk “claimed in his termination letters that each plaintiff
committed ‘gross negligence’ and ‘willful misconduct’ without citing a single fact in support of this claim.”
The plantiffs also cited Musk’s biography, published a few months ago, in which Walter Isaacson quotes him as saying he wanted to fire the executives quickly before they could cash in their share options.
The complaint says that “Musk has a special ire toward” the plaintiffs, as “they appropriately and vigorously represented the interests of Twitter’s public shareholders throughout Musk’s wrongful attempt to renege on the deal” to acquire the social media company.
“For their efforts, Musk vowed a lifetime of revenge,” the lawsuit continues.
Agrawal is demanding around $57.36 million, Segal is asking for just under $44.5 million, while Gadde and Edgett are demanding $20 million and almost $6.8 million respectively for a total amount of around $128.6 million.
X has lost significant value since Musk’s takeover due to a drop in advertising revenue.
GNA