If they hurridly put got their extra nice golden parachutes put in AFTER rumors that Musk was buying Twitter out, then I think he has a case against paying them, but if they were there well before that, then legally I think Musk inherited it when he bought the company.
“...then legally I think Musk inherited it when he bought the company.”
Every contract of that nature has fine print requirements.
I think that’s why they were fired ‘for cause’. That obviates any payouts. Thus they’ll have to sue and prove ‘for cause’ wasn’t true.