Four former Twitter executives have taken legal action against Elon Musk, seeking $128 million in severance payments that they claim were wrongfully withheld after their dismissals following Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the social media platform in 2022. The executives—Parag Agrawal, Ned Segal, Vijaya Gadde, and Sean Edgett—were let go by Musk, who later rebranded Twitter as X.

According to the executives’ contracts, they were entitled to receive severance in the event that Twitter ceased to be a public company. When Musk privatized the company in October 2022, the executives argue that they should have been compensated with one year’s salary and unvested stock awards. The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, also names several employees of Musk’s space exploration company, SpaceX, who reportedly oversaw human resources matters at Twitter post-acquisition.

One of the executives, Parag Agrawal, had an annual salary of $1 million and was set to receive $12.5 million in stock that would vest gradually. In the event of involuntary termination, Agrawal had a golden parachute provision entitling him to a $60 million payout. Similarly, Ned Segal and Vijaya Gadde were slated to receive $46 million and $21 million, respectively, in such a scenario, according to company filings.

Musk in the past has indicated his intention to avoid paying severance to the executives by dismissing them “for cause.” In an interview with biographer Walter Isaacson, Musk expressed his desire to withhold the payments, which would save him approximately $200 million. He even went as far as to say he would relentlessly pursue the executives to prevent them from receiving their due compensation.

Legal representatives for the executives have characterized Musk’s actions as a pattern of behavior aimed at retaining funds owed to others, forcing them to resort to legal action to claim what is rightfully theirs. Notably, the executives had previously sued Musk for legal fees incurred during investigations into Twitter, leading to a Delaware court ordering Musk to pay $1.1 million to cover those expenses in October.

As of now, a spokesperson for X, Musk’s company, has declined to provide any comments on the matter. Similarly, an attorney representing Musk has yet to respond to requests for statements regarding the lawsuit.

In conclusion, the situation underscores the ongoing legal battle between the former Twitter executives and Elon Musk, highlighting the complexities and challenges involved in corporate leadership transitions and the enforcement of contractual agreements. It remains to be seen how the court will rule on the matter and whether the executives will ultimately receive the severance payments they believe they are owed.