(San Francisco) Four former Twitter executives filed a complaint Monday against Elon Musk, accusing the owner of the social network of having fired them for gross negligence for no other reason than not paying them their severance pay.
They are demanding more than $128 million from the entrepreneur who bought Twitter, now X, for $44 billion on October 27, 2022, according to a court document consulted by AFP.
Elon Musk, already boss of Tesla and SpaceX, had fired the same day the former boss of Twitter Parag Agrawal, the financial director Ned Segal, and the legal and legal directors, Vijaya Gadde and Sean Edgett, for “gross negligence” and “ intentional misconduct.”
“Because Musk decided he didn’t want to pay plaintiffs’ severance pay, he simply fired them for no reason and then made up a false reason,” the four former executives accuse.
They explain that their termination letters cited “no facts” and that “Musk’s employees then spent a year trying to find facts to support his pre-established conclusion, to no avail.”
More than a year of administrative back and forth has passed.
“That’s the rule of Musk’s game: keep the money he owes other people and force them to sue him. Even if he loses, Mr. Musk can impose delays, hassles and expenses on others who cannot afford them,” the plaintiffs assert.
Controversies
Elon Musk, one of the richest men in the world, bought Twitter after six months of attacks on the social network against its operations, its managers and its employees, and legal twists and turns.
In April 2022, he notably relayed a derogatory tweet about Vijaya Gadde, the lawyer responsible for the regulations and security of the platform, then cracked a even (parody image) to make fun of her and content moderation.
The tempestuous leader acquired Twitter with the aim of liberalizing a network which, according to him, was stifling freedom of expression.
He has since transformed the platform from top to bottom: the majority of employees were quickly fired, the rules were relaxed and many banned users were able to return.
It has been called “X” since July 2023, arouses endless controversies and is struggling to survive financially due to the desertion of many advertisers.
Elon Musk’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request from AFP.
“Let the party begin,” Elon Musk tweeted on October 28, 2022, after “the bird is released” the day before, in reference to the blue bird logo, which has since disappeared from the building and the service.