Elon Musk’s X wants money back from laid-off employees who were allegedly overpaid

Elon Musk's X Corp. is demanding repayment from at least six former Australian employees, claiming they were accidentally overpaid. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, X Corp. is threatening legal action to recover these overpayments.

The issue arose from an error in currency conversion from US dollars to Australian dollars. Emails from X's Asia Pacific HR department indicate that overpayments occurred in January 2023, ranging from $1,500 to $70,000 per employee.

These payments were part of a 'deferred cash compensation' tied to employee shares, originally valued at $54.20 USD each—the price Musk paid when acquiring Twitter in 2022. So far, none of the affected former employees have returned the money. The overpayments happened because X Corp. used an incorrect conversion rate, reportedly 2.5 times the actual value.

Employment law specialist Hayden Stephens suggests that while employees might have to return the money, they should request detailed explanations and evidence of the error from X Corp. Under Australian employment law, genuine overpayment mistakes typically need to be repaid.

In contrast, many former US-based employees are still fighting to receive their severance payments. About 2,000 ex-employees have filed lawsuits and arbitration claims against X Corp. for unpaid severance. Settlement talks have failed in multiple cases. Additionally, four former Twitter executives, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal and former CFO Ned Segal, are suing X Corp. for over $128 million in unpaid severance.

They were fired immediately after Musk's acquisition of Twitter. The proposed trial date for this case is in November 2025. Musk's refusal to pay various Twitter vendors post-acquisition has led to numerous lawsuits seeking compensation, adding to the company's legal challenges.