Did Peter Thiel fire Elon Musk? Tesla owner debunks long-standing rumor, calls his PayPal departure a "palace coup"

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has debunked claims that Peter Thiel fired him from his post at PayPal back in the year 2000. His tweet was in response to a post with a clip from a podcast, where it was claimed that Thiel fired Elon. It was also suggested that Peter Thiel handled the situation kindly.

The podcast further claimed that the step was a respectful decision by Thiel and added that Elon Musk left about a 12% stake in the company. The clip further suggested that their relationship continued even after that and that Elon allowed Thiel's Founders Fund to go ahead with an investment of $20 million for a 10% stake in SpaceX. 

The tweet with the podcast clip garnered more than a million views and thus, did not fail to grab Elon Musk's attention. Elon took to X and clarified, saying that Peter wasn't in a position to fire him at the time. He added,

"I was CEO and Peter reported to me, so could not fire me. It was a palace coup by most (not all) of the exec team and most of the board, who were worried that my decisions were too risky. I was the largest shareholder in the company. There was nothing anyone could have done to take my shares away from me."

Why was Elon Musk removed from his position at PayPal in 2000?

PayPal was originally established in 1998 as Fieldlink by Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek. In 2000, they merged with X.com, an American online bank co-founded by Elon Musk. At one point in time, the billionaire went on to become the CEO of the company. However, he was ousted from the position, as per his biographer Walter Isaacson.

Isaacson claimed that at the time in 2000, Elon was on his honeymoon with his then wife, Justine. Many reports suggested that during his absence, a lot of senior executives and officials moved to replace Elon Musk, stating concerns about his strategic decisions. According to The New York Post, Elon had a difference of opinion with the board members over the branding of the company.

Speaking of the reported ousting, Elon told Isaacson,

"I was pretty angry at first. I had thoughts of assassination running through my head. But eventually I realized that it was good I got couped. Otherwise I'd still be slaving away at PayPal."

The Tesla CEO believed that if he stayed in PayPal, it would be a "trillion-dollar company." While he was ousted from his position, Elon Musk was permitted to keep his equity stake. Despite the situation, Musk reportedly had been on good terms with Peter Thiel, David Sacks, and others, according to Isaacson.

Isaacson further stated that his dynamics with his PayPal colleagues also led to the rescue of SpaceX when it was needed. According to Musk,

"After I got assassinated by the PayPal coup leaders, like Caesar being stabbed in the Senate, I could have said, 'You guys, you suck.' But I didn't."

Meanwhile, as of now, Peter Thiel has not shared any statement in response to the tweet that prompted Elon Musk to come up with a reaction.