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Former Twitter executive Nick Caldwell is suing Elon Musk and Welfare.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in California on Wednesday, Caldwell’s lawyers claimed that the company “defrauded Mr. Caldwell and other senior executives through false pretenses” after Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Severance package totaling $200 million.” Accusing them of misconduct and claiming they were fired for ’cause’. “
Caldwell’s lawsuit is similar to another filed by former Twitter executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, who claims he is owed $128 million in unpaid severance pay .
Caldwell is currently Chief Product Officer Peloton He also sits on the boards of several other technology companies, according to his LinkedIn profile. Previously, he served as general manager of Twitter’s Redbird (or Core Technology) organization, where he managed a team of hundreds of engineers.
The complaint alleges that Caldwell worked to retain key talent at Twitter until the acquisition was completed and then sent a letter to the company on Oct. 28, 2022, saying he resigned “for good reason.”Two days ago, Musk Tweet A video of him entering the company’s headquarters and writing: “Enter Twitter HQ – let’s remember this!”
Caldwell’s lawyers argued that Twitter’s acceptance of Caldwell’s resignation triggered “Twitter’s Change of Control and Involuntary Termination Protection Policy” for executives who leave the company in good standing.
Twitter told Caldwell his last day would be Nov. 27, a month after he submitted his resignation letter. The company immediately cut off his access to internal systems and has not maintained contact with him, the complaint states. On November 27, Twitter claimed Caldwell was fired for cause.
“Without any factual basis, Musk is simply accusing Mr. Caldwell of misconduct as a way to avoid paying him the millions of dollars in severance Musk/Twitter owes Mr. Caldwell,” his attorneys wrote. A cost-effective strategy.”
The lawsuit states that Musk brought in relatives, investors and current and former employees from his other companies, SpaceX and SpaceX. Teslaincluding some who “deny severance claims made by Mr. Caldwell and other executives as part of the severance plan administration process.”
The lawsuit names Brian Bjelde and Lindsay Chapman, who work at SpaceX, and Dhruv Batura, who worked in finance at SpaceX. TeslaAlong with Musk as a defendant.
Caldwell’s attorneys said in the filing that their client is owed about $19.3 million in severance and interest, as well as about $500,000 representing the value of the restricted stock units he was supposed to pay in November 2022. ) and about $3 million in interest, plus legal fees.
Musk and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Caldwell’s attorney declined to comment and referred CNBC to the document.
Days before Caldwell resigned from Twitter, he shared a post on social media saying, “My wife and soulmate Tia Caldwell passed away suddenly on October 15th. She was only 39. Years old, but living a beautiful and fulfilling life full of love.” The lawsuit makes no mention of his wife’s death.
Read the full indictment below – Nicholas Caldwell v. Elon Musk, X Corp., et al. (Case 3:24-cv-02022).
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