Elon Musk and his social media company, X (formerly Twitter), have reached a settlement with a group of former senior executives over a $128 million severance dispute.
The executives — former CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, former Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, and former General Counsel Sean Edgett — sued the company in 2024, alleging that Musk withheld their severance pay out of “revenge” after being forced to complete the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022.
All four were dismissed within hours of Musk taking control in October 2022, just one day before their severance and vested stock options, reportedly worth over $128 million, were due.
The lawsuit referenced Walter Isaacson’s 2023 biography of Elon Musk, which claimed Musk intentionally accelerated the closing of the Twitter sale so he could fire the executives “for cause” — a move that would typically void severance payments. The executives, however, argued that the reasons given for their termination were unfounded.
A court order filed on October 1 in the U.S. Northern District Court of California confirmed that both parties had reached a settlement, though the specific terms were not disclosed. The agreement paused upcoming depositions, including one involving Musk, as both sides finalize the settlement.
This marks the second major severance dispute X has resolved this year, following an earlier settlement in August with another group of former employees who also claimed unpaid severance.
