Elon Musk's legal battles over Twitter's severance plan have come to a head, with a class-action lawsuit led by former employee Courtney McMillian being dismissed by US District Judge Trina Thompson. The lawsuit argued that laid-off employees were entitled to three months of pay under the federal ERISA law, and sought $500 million in unpaid severance. However, Judge Thompson ruled that the Twitter Severance Plan did not qualify under ERISA, as employees had been notified of a separate payout scheme prior to the layoffs. She decided that the severance program put in place after Musk's acquisition of the company was the one that applied to the former employees, rather than the 2019 plan they were expecting. Musk has emerged victorious in this legal battle, further solidifying his control over the social media platform.