Omid Kordestani, Twitter's former executive chairman and board member, has filed a lawsuit against X, the company formerly known as Twitter, claiming that Elon Musk's firm has failed to pay him over $20 million in shares he is owed.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in California Superior Court, alleges that X is refusing to honour contractual obligations to cash out Kordestani's stock options and other equity-based compensation following Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform in 2022.

Kordestani, who served as Twitter's executive chairman from 2015 to 2020 and remained on the board until Musk's takeover, claims he was offered a relatively modest salary of $50,000 when joining Twitter. However, this was supplemented with substantial stock options and restricted stock units, which were meant to be paid out within days of the acquisition's completion.

According to the legal filing, X "seeks to reap the benefits of Mr. Kordestani's seven years of service to Twitter without paying him for it, despite clear contractual language requiring X Corp. to do so". The lawsuit states that Kordestani held 800,000 stock options worth over $20 million at the time of the acquisition, as well as additional stock payouts scheduled for the following months valued at nearly $3 million.

This case is the latest in a series of legal battles faced by Musk and X in the wake of the tumultuous Twitter acquisition. Former chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and top lawyers have also sued the company for unpaid compensation, while thousands of former employees have joined mass arbitration cases alleging wrongful termination and insufficient severance pay.

The dispute highlights the ongoing fallout from Musk's controversial takeover, which has seen widespread layoffs, operational changes, and legal challenges. X has yet to respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

Kordestani, who was Google's 11th employee and rose to become its chief business officer, joined Twitter's board in 2015 and played a key role in mentoring then-chief executive officer Jack Dorsey. His lawsuit adds to the growing list of financial disputes surrounding Musk's management of the social media giant, now rebranded as X.

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