Three former Twitter executives, who were sacked by Elon Musk last year after he bought the social media company, have taken a legal route, demanding reimbursement for the costs of litigation, investigations, and congressional inquiries related to their former jobs.

Former CEO Parag Agrawal, ex-Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, and ex-Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde filed suit on Monday.

The three claimed in the suit that they are owed a total of more than US$1 million (S$1.3 million) and that Twitter is legally bound to pay them, AFP reported.

The court filing outlined numerous expenses related to inquiries by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice but did not include details on the nature of the investigations or whether they were still ongoing.

Agrawal and Ned Segal provided testimony to the SEC last year and “have continued to engage with federal authorities," according to court documents.

The SEC is investigating whether Musk complied with securities rules when he amassed Twitter shares.

Former Twitter chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde was called on to take part in a US congressional hearing about big tech and free speech following Elon Musk’s release late last year of so-called “Twitter Files” related to the site’s content moderation.

Gadde was also named as a defendant in a lawsuit by a man who claimed he was doxxed on Twitter as a white supremacist, the filing said. Agrawal, Gadde, and Segal were sacked from their posts in late October after closing the contentious US$44 billion takeover of Twitter.

The three former executives argue that Twitter is bound by agreements to reimburse them but has done no more than acknowledge that it received their invoices.

After taking over Twitter, Musk quickly slashed the ranks of employees, with the cuts being so broad that they raised concerns about the platform’s stability and its ability to fight misinformation and other abuse.

Complaints have also been filed accusing Twitter of not paying rent or other bills as Musk follows through on his vow to “cut costs like crazy”.

According to market trackers, advertising revenue has slumped at Twitter due to concerns over misinformation and hateful content flourishing as Musk dials back moderation efforts.

Image Source: ED