Another day, another lawsuit involving Elon Musk. Four former Twitter executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, sued Musk on Monday, alleging they are owed more than $128 million in severance payments.
When Musk bought Twitter (now According to the lawsuit, Musk has a “special anger” toward these former executives, who worked hard to make Musk fulfill his $44 billion commitment when he tried to back out. The lawsuit cites Walter Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk, which quotes Musk as saying that he would “hunt down each and every” Twitter executive “until the day he dies.”
Musk has been openly critical of Gadde in particular, who was involved in several high-profile content moderation decisions at Twitter. After making his offer to buy Twitter, he posted memes mocking the executive, sparking a wave of racist comments online attacks against her.
It's not just these executives who haven't received their severance pay. Musk has faced several demands from former Twitter employees who are also waiting for a check. Under Musk's ownership, the company stopped paying rent for some of its offices, which has led to even more lawsuits and evictions.
According to the lawsuit, Musk claimed that these executives committed “gross negligence” and “willful misconduct” in their termination letters, but was never able to show proof of his allegations.
“This is Musk's strategy: to keep the money he owes other people and force them to sue him,” the lawsuit reads. “Even in the event of defeat, Musk can impose delays, inconvenience and expense on others less able to afford it.”
