Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal stands to make $42 million if his position is terminated within 12 months of a change in control over the social media company, as per Reuters, which cited research firm Equilar. 

The news comes amid SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk buying Twitter for $44 billion, ending the company’s public run which took off in 2013. 

In a security filing on April 14, Musk indicated that he didn’t have confidence in the current Twitter management. When the entrepreneur had initially taken up a majority share in the company, Musk turned down the opportunity to be on the board of directors.

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Musk has long been critical of Twitter’s policies, especially regarding free speech. The purchase of the social media company comes at a time when Twitter decided to block advertisements which denied the science of climate change. Speaking of Musk’s desire to champion free speech, ex-Reddit CEO Yishan Wong noted that the entrepreneur would be in for a world of pain, since absolute free speech on a platform the size of Twitter isn’t possible, it requires some moderation. 

As the entrepreneur takes the reins of the social media company, ex-CEO Jack Dorsey’s comments about the Twitter board being dysfunctional, come to mind. However, Dorsey had also expressed happiness at Agrawal and Musk leading Twitter as a team. 

The Twitter board of directors draw a salary, which Musk has said will be slashed to zero when he takes over. 

Formerly the chief technology officer, Agrawal was named the CEO in November 2021. His total compensation for the year was $30.4 million, which came largely in stock awards, Reuters reported.

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The Equilar estimate of Agrawal’s severance comes from his base salary and accelerated vesting of all equity awards. This calculation hinges on Musk’s offer of $54.20 per share of Twitter, as per Reuters.