The 'face with tears of joy' emoji is commonly used to convey a sense of crying with laughter in digital communication. It is often employed to express humor, joking, or teasing on messaging platforms.
Recently, Elon Musk, the prominent tech entrepreneur and owner of X (formerly Twitter), found himself embroiled in a legal battle with four former Twitter executives. These executives, including the former CEO, CFO, head of legal, policy and trust, and safety, and general counsel, were terminated by Musk following the closure of a $44 billion takeover of the company in October 2022. The executives are now suing Musk for a total of $128 million in severance pay, alleging wrongful termination.
In response to sarcastic remarks made on X regarding the lawsuit, Musk, known for his affinity for internet memes, posted the tears of joy emoji. This gesture seemed to suggest a lighthearted or dismissive attitude towards the legal proceedings.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, references a passage from a biography of Musk by Walter Isaacson. The book recounts Musk's strategy to dismiss the executives before their stock options vested, highlighting his determination to avoid paying severance benefits.
The lawsuit claims that Musk terminated the executives without valid reasons and fabricated allegations of 'gross negligence' and 'willful misconduct' to justify their dismissals. Musk's employees allegedly struggled to find evidence to support these claims, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the terminations.
Meanwhile, Musk's financial standing faced a setback as he lost his title as the world's richest person to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. Bezos surpassed Musk in net worth, with $200 billion compared to Musk's $198 billion as of March 4, according to the Wall Street Journal.
