Elon Musk Accused of Violating Building Codes and Failing to Pay Severance, Lawsuit Claims Former employees say Musk instructed his team to break local and federal laws.

By Madeline Garfinkle

Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, California.

In late 2022, the San Francisco Department of Buildings launched an investigation into allegations Twitter had converted conference rooms into bedrooms. Now, city officials have opened a new investigation into the company for violating building codes after six former employees filed an explosive lawsuit against Elon Musk and the company, the San Francisco Chronicle reported

Joseph Killian, a plaintiff who was formerly the company's lead project manager of global design and construction, said Twitter CEO Elon Musk's team instructed him to violate building codes by disconnecting motion-sensitive lights and installing space heaters and door locks incapable of automatically unlocking in case of an emergency — all of which were violations of Twitter's lease and city safety standards.

According to the lawsuit, when Killian told Musk's team that the cheaper locks Musk wanted to install would prevent "first responders from being able to access the rooms" in case of an emergency, "nobody cared," and he quit that day.

Related: Elon Musk Says Remote Work Is 'Morally Wrong,' Calls It 'Messed Up'

The lawsuit accuses Twitter and its holding company X. Corp of 14 counts of violations including fraud, labor-rights laws and breach of contract.

Four of the six plaintiffs also allege that Musk did not pay promised severance, which they are seeking through the lawsuit along with punitive damages for "flagrant bad faith," the Chronicle reported.

Twitter is also facing lawsuits from its landlords in New York, London and San Francisco for allegedly not paying rent.

In a conversation that allegedly took place at 4 a.m., Musk's adviser Pablo Mendoza told one of the plaintiffs that Musk said he'd "only pay rent over his dead body," the lawsuit claims.

Related: California Judge Says Twitter Employees Must Be Informed of Potential Class Action Suit Related to Layoffs

Wavy Line
Madeline Garfinkle

Entrepreneur Staff

News Writer

Madeline Garfinkle is a News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate from Syracuse University, and received an MFA from Columbia University. 

Editor's Pick

A Father Decided to Change When He Was in Prison on His Son's Birthday. Now His Nonprofit Helps Formerly Incarcerated Applicants Land 6-Figure Jobs.
Lock
A Teen Turned His Roblox Side Hustle Into a Multimillion-Dollar Company — Now He's Working With Karlie Kloss and Elton John
Lock
3 Mundane Tasks You Should Automate to Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff
Lock
The Next Time Someone Intimidates You, Here's What You Should Do
5 Ways to Manage Your Mental Health and Regulate Your Nervous System for Sustainable Success

Related Topics

Business News

'Do You Hate Me?': High School Teacher Shares Wild Emails He Receives From Students

Jordan Baechler teaches high school students in Ontario, Canada.

Business News

Hedge Fund Pays NYC Interns $20,000 a Month on Average, Sent to Lavish Palm Beach Kickoff

Citadel is known for its over-the-top parties and company retreats.

Data & Recovery

This Father's Day, Give the Gift of No More Low Storage Warnings

Save 85% on 1TB of cloud storage for Father's Day.

Starting a Business

Starting a New Business? Here's How to Leverage Transferable Skills From Your Prior Careers and Drive Success

Launching your own business can be daunting, but when you harness the skills from past jobs, there are a variety of things you must ask yourself. Here are three recipes for success using your prior experiences.