India-West News Desk
SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk and X, formerly Twitter, have reached a settlement with former executives Parag Agrawal and Vijaya Gadde over $128 million in severance the executives claimed was withheld after Musk’s 2022 acquisition of the company.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024, alleged Musk blocked severance and vested stock as retaliation after being compelled to complete his $44 billion takeover. Agrawal, Gadde, former CFO Ned Segal, and former General Counsel Sean Edgett were all fired within hours of Musk taking control in October 2022—just one day before they were set to receive roughly $200 million in severance and vested stock.
An October 1 court order in the U.S. Northern District of California confirmed the settlement but did not disclose its terms. The order also delayed depositions, including Musk’s, scheduled for late October while the parties finalize settlement conditions.
The lawsuit drew on Walter Isaacson’s 2023 authorized biography of Musk, which describes how he accelerated the Twitter acquisition closing to fire top executives “for cause” and prevent payouts. The plaintiffs argued the stated reasons for their termination were unsubstantiated.
Gadde, who oversaw legal and policy operations, and Agrawal, who served as CEO, were central figures in the takeover saga and Musk’s restructuring of Twitter. Their dispute highlights ongoing tensions from the acquisition, which included widespread layoffs and unpaid severance claims from other employees.
This agreement follows a separate August settlement resolving similar severance claims from other former Twitter employees, reported CNN.