Elon Musk faces another lawsuit over his leadership of X (formerly Twitter) after former executives demanded $128 million from unpaid severance fees.
Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, along with other chief executives, filed a complaint against Musk and X Corp. for "repeatedly refusing to honor other clear contractual commitments."
The lawsuit hinges on the company's contractual obligation to provide severance payments to the former executives if Twitter becomes no longer a public company. Musk's move to make X private affected the company's shares as soon as he took office.
Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, head of legal Vijaya Gadde, and general counsel Sean Edgett were among the hundreds of staff fired by Musk when he took over Twitter in October 2022.
According to the lawsuit, the former executives were dismissed for "gross negligence" and "willful misconduct."
This was what Musk reportedly told his biographer, Walter Isaacson, citing intentions to "hunt" the platform's executives for various reasons to avoid paying severance.
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Musk Hounded by Lawsuits Over Twitter Acquisition
The lawsuit from Agrawal is only the latest in the growing number of legal battles X and Musk are currently facing following the billionaire's acquisition of Twitter.
Last year, several former employees reportedly filed complaints against the company over wrongful termination or a breach of contract from their dismissal.
Some even lodged a defamation case against X for "undermining" the platform's Election Integrity team from one of Musk's posts.
The new lawsuit comes amid the ongoing investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has now subpoenaed Musk for failing to attend previous interrogations.
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Elon Musk's Acquisition of Twitter is Mired with Controversy
Outside of lawsuits, Musk's acquisition of Twitter continues to be steeped in controversies and issues affecting the social media's businesses.
Several big brands went on an advertisement exodus on X last year following a couple of Antisemitic posts from Musk.
This is in addition to allegations of pro-Nazi and Antisemitic posts appearing next to advertisements.
The ensuing chaos has resulted in the platform's ad revenues slumping throughout 2023, possibly further lowering the company's value since Musk bought it for $44 billion.
