Elon Musk Resolves 128M USD Lawsuit with Ex-Twitter Execs

Elon Musk has quietly settled a major lawsuit with four former Twitter executives who were fired after his $44 billion purchase of the company in 2022.

The agreement ends a nearly three-year dispute over $128 million in severance payments the executives claimed they were owed.

The executives—former CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, and General Counsel Sean Edgett—were let go just hours after Musk took over Twitter, now called X, on October 27, 2022.

They argued in a San Francisco federal court that they were entitled to hefty severance packages, known as "golden parachutes," which promised big payouts if they were fired without cause after a change in ownership.

• Elon Musk Settles $128M Lawsuit with Ex-Twitter Executives After Turbulent Takeover
• Ex-Twitter Executives Drop $128M Severance Dispute in Private Settlement with Elon Musk
• Musk Resolves Legal Battle with Parag Agrawal, Ned Segal, Vijaya Gadde, and Sean Edgett

The executives said Musk fired them for personal reasons, not because of their job performance, pointing to his public criticisms of them during the messy takeover process.

Musk and X fought back, claiming the executives didn’t deserve the money. The company accused them of mismanaging Twitter, including exaggerating user numbers and failing to control spam accounts—problems Musk had loudly criticized as he worked to reshape the platform. X argued these failures justified the firings and canceled any severance obligations.

The lawsuit dragged on, reflecting the chaos that followed Musk’s acquisition. Twitter saw massive layoffs, cutting over 80% of its staff, a rebrand to X, and ongoing struggles with advertisers and regulators. The executives’ case stood out, partly because of Musk’s pointed social media jabs at Agrawal and others before the deal closed.

While the settlement’s details are private, court filings confirm both sides agreed to drop all claims, avoiding a trial that could have revealed more about the turbulent takeover. Analysts see this as a practical move for Musk, who’s juggling challenges at Tesla and his AI venture, xAI.

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For the executives, the settlement offers some closure after years of legal battles. For Musk, it’s a chance to move past a costly distraction from his bold plans to turn X into an “everything app.”