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The long-running gender discrimination case against X Corp., formerly known as Twitter, has come to a quiet close. The company and former engineer Sydney Frederick-Osborn have jointly moved to dismiss the lawsuit, signaling the end of the X Sex Bias Suit that accused Elon Musk’s restructured Twitter of fostering conditions that deliberately drove out women employees.

The voluntary dismissal, filed Tuesday in California federal court, follows notice in August that both sides had reached a confidential settlement. Details of the agreement were not disclosed, leaving the financial and procedural terms of the resolution under wraps.

From Twitter to “Titter”: Allegations of a Hostile Culture

Frederick-Osborn, who joined Twitter as a staff engineer, filed her complaint in January 2024, alleging that Musk’s sweeping overhaul after his 2022 acquisition turned the company into a workplace hostile to women and older workers.

She claimed that Musk’s first major act — slashing Twitter’s staff by 50% — disproportionately affected women and older employees. Although her age bias claims were later dismissed, her sex discrimination allegations gained traction in court.

Frederick-Osborn said she survived the initial layoffs but found the new “Twitter 2.0” culture unbearable. Under Musk’s directive, employees were told to work 12-hour days, seven days a week, and return to full-time in-person work. The ultimatum came in the form of a mass email in November 2022, asking workers to commit to “long hours at high intensity” — or face immediate termination.

Frederick-Osborn refused to click the commitment link and was laid off the next day. She alleged the mandate favored “male and younger workers,” noting that 36% of remaining women were terminated, compared with 28% of men.

Musk’s Comments and the Court’s Response

The complaint also highlighted Musk’s public remarks, including his controversial decision to remove the “w” from Twitter’s headquarters sign, leaving it to read “Titter.” Frederick-Osborn cited such behavior — along with Musk’s comment that “being a mom is just as important as any career” — as evidence of a sexist company culture.

In April 2024, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley dismissed the age bias portion of the case but allowed the sex bias claims to proceed. The court found that Musk’s statements about motherhood and his workplace expectations could suggest knowledge of how the new demands might disadvantage female employees.

X denied all allegations in a May 2024 response, maintaining that its post-acquisition restructuring was lawful and non-discriminatory.

Settlement Brings an Unquiet End

Though the case ends without a trial, it leaves a lingering question about the culture shift under Musk’s leadership. Both sides declined to comment following the dismissal.

Frederick-Osborn was represented by Shannon Liss-Riordan and Thomas Fowler of Lichten & Liss-Riordan PC, while X Corp. was defended by Eric Meckley, Brian D. Berry, and Ashlee N. Cherry of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.

With the X Sex Bias Suit end, the chapter closes on yet another legal challenge for Musk’s social media empire — a saga emblematic of the turbulent era that turned Twitter into X and reshaped its workforce with unrelenting force.