WASHINGTON -Former CNN anchor Don Lemon sued Elon Musk on Thursday, saying that the billionaire entrepreneur refused to pay him after a partnership with the X social media platform got shelved.

The lawsuit was filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco, a legal filing showed.

X canceled its partnership with Lemon in March after he said Musk would be his first guest in an interview.

"His approach was basically just 'CNN, but on social media', which doesn't work," Musk later said in a post on the platform, adding that Lemon was welcome to build viewership on the platform.

Lemon, a popular prime-time personality, was fired from CNN in April last year after 17 years at the cable television network after a short tenure as morning show co-host.