Musk's X faces lawsuit over $20 million in unpaid shares

Series of legal actions taken against Elon Musk by former leaders at Twitter since he took over ownership of the platform

Tech Desk - Aug 10, 2024

An undated illustration showing Elon Musk on smartphone along with former (left) and new (right) logos of X. — Getty Images

X (formerly known as Twitter) CEO Elon Musk has been sued by a former Twitter board member. Former X executive chairman Omid Kordestani has sued the social media giant, claiming that Musk refused to cash out more than $20 million worth of shares he is owed.

Earlier, Kordestani served as the company’s executive chairman from 2015 to 2020 and stayed on the board for two more years, until Musk bought the platform for $44 billion. He claimed in the complaint that the bulk of his compensation was stock, which he said Musk has refused to pay out.

Lawyers for the former chairman claimed that X Corp, as Musk renamed the company, is looking to “reap the benefits of Kordestani's seven years of service to Twitter without paying him for it.”

The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco, is the recent in a series of legal actions taken against Musk by former leaders at Twitter since he took over the ownership of the platform.

Earlier, four ex-executives sued Musk for purportedly withholding more than $128 million in severance payments after they were ousted from the company. However, X refused to comment on the issue.