Elon Musk has reached a settlement with four senior Twitter executives he abruptly fired after acquiring the company in 2022, ending a high-profile legal battle that shed light on his handling of the $44 billion takeover.
The settlement follows a year-long standoff over more than $128 million in unpaid severance benefits.
Court filings submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California confirm that Musk and X Corp — Twitter’s rebranded parent company — have agreed in principle to settle with former CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and general counsel Sean Edgett. The four executives had sued Musk in March 2024, alleging that he engineered an “early closing” of the Twitter acquisition to deprive them of stock options set to vest the following day.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
The filing indicates that the settlement is subject to “certain conditions” yet to be made public. The court has granted an extension of existing deadlines to give Musk time to fulfill those conditions, with proceedings scheduled to resume on October 31 if the terms are not met.
According to the executives’ lawsuit, Musk intentionally closed the acquisition on October 27, 2022 — a day earlier than scheduled — to block roughly $200 million worth of vested stock options. They cited passages from Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of Musk, where the billionaire allegedly said he would “hunt every single one” of Twitter’s former leaders “till the day they die.” The lawsuit claimed this statement exemplified Musk’s personal vendetta against the executives who had previously resisted his takeover bid.
Agrawal and his team were dismissed within minutes of Musk assuming control of the company, reportedly escorted out of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters under security supervision. Their abrupt termination formed part of a wider purge that saw more than 6,000 employees laid off globally between late 2022 and early 2023, as Musk sought to cut costs and overhaul the company’s business model.
X has been battling a string of lawsuits stemming from those layoffs. In August 2025, the company agreed to settle thousands of cases filed by ex-employees who accused Musk of violating federal labor laws by failing to provide the mandatory 60-day notice required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The company has also faced claims from vendors, landlords, and former contractors who allege unpaid dues totaling tens of millions of dollars.
The legal tension comes amid ongoing turbulence at X, which has struggled with declining advertising revenue, operational restructuring, and regulatory challenges in multiple countries. Musk’s rebranding of Twitter into “X” was part of his long-term vision to transform the platform into an “everything app” offering payments, video streaming, and AI-powered services. However, that vision has been undermined by advertiser pullbacks, staffing shortages, and skepticism from regulators.
Analysts say the settlement with the four top executives is a pragmatic move for Musk, who faces mounting legal and financial pressures as X attempts to stabilize.
Dan Ives, a tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, said settling now allows Musk to limit exposure and draw a line under one of the most damaging disputes from his Twitter acquisition, adding that the case symbolized the chaos and personal acrimony that followed the takeover.
Under Musk’s ownership, X has also undergone dramatic policy shifts, including the reinstatement of previously banned accounts, a reduced focus on content moderation, and the introduction of paid verification. These moves have polarized users and advertisers alike, with the platform’s U.S. ad revenue reportedly falling by over 50% in 2023 before showing a modest recovery in mid-2025.
However, Musk remains determined to push X toward profitability and global expansion, particularly through new subscription models and AI-driven features. But legal experts say the latest settlement signals that even as Musk looks ahead, the legacy of his Twitter takeover continues to cast a long shadow.
With the settlement now pending final approval, Musk appears intent on closing one of the most contentious chapters of his ownership — though many within Silicon Valley say the consequences of his aggressive acquisition tactics will linger for years.