Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally acquired Twitter after a months-long saga full of twists and turns. Within minutes of his takeover, Musk did what he was speculated to do ever since the acquisition was being discussed -- firing top Twitter executives. The CEO Parag Agrawal, the company’s legal head and policy maker Vijaya Gadde, and CFO Nel Segal were the first executives to be terminated from the company. However, Agrawal, who was appointed as the Twitter CEO in November 2021, will leave a rich man. As per reports, Agrawal is entitled to get $42 million from Twitter if he were terminated within 12 months of a change in control.
The research firm Equilar estimated Agrawal's base salary for a year along with the "accelerated vesting of all equity awards," the company spokesperson told Reuters in a statement. The estimate was also based on the price Musk offered, $54.20 per share and terms in the company's proxy statement.
Agrawal was elevated as the CEO of Twitter in November last year when former CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down from his role. His total compensation for 2021 was $30.4 million, which was paid to him in stock awards. With Agrawal’s termination, his decade-long association with the company also ended. He had joined Twitter when it was at a nascent stage with less than 1000 employees at the helm.
Agarwal’s termination was predicted when the talks about Musk acquiring Twitter first came to shore. Musk found the Twitter management incompetent and his leaked chats were testimony to the fact that he disliked Agarwal and wanted to get rid of him as soon as he acquired him.
Musk's hate-hate relationship with Parag Agrawal
It was certain that Musk would fire Parag Agrawal as soon as he took over. In some of his leaked chats, Musk berated Agrawal and even mocked him for holidaying in Hawaii. Musk believed that Agrawal was not the kind of man who could run Twitter.
Before buying Twitter, Musk had also exchanged a couple of chats with Agrawal and there clearly wasn't any bonhomie even when the acquisition process had not begun. In one of his texts to Agrawal, Musk had called joining the Twitter board a "waste of time".
"What did you get done this week... I'm not joining the board. This is a waste of time. Will make an offer to take Twitter private," his text to Agrawal read.
Musk had even written messages to former Twitter chief Jack Dorsey about his dealings with Agrawal. The leaked chats reveal that Dorsey had tried to get Musk and Agrawal together but things didn't happen as he planned. He said: "You and I are in complete agreement... Parag is just moving far too slowly and trying to please people who will not be happy no matter what he does." To this Dorsey replied, "At least it became clear that you can't work together."
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