Four former Twitter executives, including his former boss, Parag Agrawal, took Elon Musk to court on Monday. They accuse the new owner of the social network, renamed X, of having fired them without paying them compensation, for which they claim more than 128 million dollars.
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Four former Twitter executives filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on Monday, accusing the owner of the social network of firing them for gross negligence without paying them compensation.
They claim more than $128 million from the businessman who bought Twitter, now X, for $44 billion on October 27, 2022, according to a court document consulted by AFP.
Elon Musk, already head of Tesla and SpaceX, dismissed the former head of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, on the same day; CFO Ned Segal and legal directors Vijaya Gadde and Sean Edgett for “gross negligence” and “willful misconduct.”
“As Musk decided he did not want to pay the plaintiffs compensation, he simply fired them without cause, and then invented a false reason,” the four former executives charge.
They explain that their dismissal letters cited “no facts at all” and that they “then spent a year trying to find facts to support their pre-established conclusion, to no avail.”
More than a year of administrative comings and goings have passed. “This is Musk's rule of the game: keep the money he owes other people and force them to sue him. Even if he loses, Mr. Musk can impose delays, inconveniences and expenses on other people who cannot afford them,” the plaintiffs say .
Controversies
Elon Musk, one of the richest men in the world, bought Twitter after six months of attacks on the social network, its directors and employees, and legal comings and goings.
In April 2022, he posted a derogatory tweet about Vijaya Gadde, the platform's regulatory and security lawyer, and then used a meme to mock her and content moderation.
The tempestuous tycoon acquired Twitter with the aim of “liberalizing” a network that, in his opinion, stifled freedom of expression. Since then, he has transformed the platform from top to bottom: most employees were quickly fired, usage rules were relaxed, and many banned users were able to return.
The company, named X since July 2023, has sparked endless controversies and is struggling to survive financially due to the withdrawal of numerous advertisers.
“Let the party begin,” Elon Musk tweeted on October 28, 2022, after also writing “the bird be freed,” the day before, in reference to Twitter's blue bird logo, which has since disappeared from the building and of the platform.
Article adapted from its original in French
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