Four former top executives of Twitter have filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, alleging that the billionaire failed to pay them severance after acquiring the social media platform.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in California, seeks over $128million in combined unpaid severance.
The plaintiffs in the case include Twitter’s former CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, former General Counsel Sean Edgett, and former Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde.
They claim that Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44billion in 2022 and renamed it X, fired them without reason and denied them severance pay.
According to the lawsuit, Musk falsely accused the executives of misconduct and terminated them minutes after taking control of Twitter.
The plaintiffs assert that Musk’s actions were a part of his "playbook" to withhold owed money and force individuals to take legal action against him.
The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge Musk faces in relation to his acquisition of Twitter and subsequent operation of the platform.
Earlier this year, the National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint alleging that Musk’s SpaceX rocket company illegally fired eight workers for criticizing his leadership.
X, the company formed after Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, is already facing multiple lawsuits over unpaid severance.
These include proposed class actions claiming at least $500million in severance owed to rank-and-file workers laid off after the acquisition, as well as a separate lawsuit by six former senior managers making similar claims.
Musk and X have not yet issued any public comments on the lawsuit.