Elon Musk, one of the most polarizing figures in tech, added a new political feather to his cap in 2024. Following Donald Trump’s re-election, Musk was tapped to co-lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency alongside Vivek Ramaswamy. It marks a shift from his entrepreneurial ventures to government service.
However, Musk’s journey to success wasn’t always smooth. Walter Isaacson’s 2023 biography, Elon Musk, revealed a pivotal moment in his career. In 2000, while Musk was CEO of X.com, the predecessor of PayPal, he was ousted during a trip to Australia with his then-wife, Justine. According to Isaacson, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Reid Hoffman, and David Dacks orchestrated the move to remove Musk.
Reflecting on the incident, Musk said, “I had thoughts of assassination running through my head” but ultimately saw it as a blessing in disguise. “It was good I got cooped. Otherwise, I’d still be slaving away at PayPal.” His belief? If he had stayed, PayPal would be worth “a trillion dollars.”
Despite the turmoil, Musk’s exit wasn’t entirely bitter. He retained equity, which earned him $250 million when eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion in 2002. This windfall set the stage for what would become one of his most ambitious ventures: SpaceX.
Later that year, Musk founded SpaceX with a vision to make life multi-planetary. The early days were tough, with three failed launches of the Falcon 1 rocket bringing the company to the brink of bankruptcy. The fourth attempt was make-or-break, but funds were running out.
Enter the Founders Fund, led by Peter Thiel and other former PayPal executives. They invested $20 million, giving SpaceX the lifeline it needed. Musk viewed the support as “an interesting exercise in karma.”
The fourth Falcon 1 launch in 2008 was a success, cementing SpaceX’s position in the space industry. NASA soon awarded the company a $1.6 billion contract, propelling it to greater heights.
SpaceX at forefront of space exploration
Fast forward to 2024: SpaceX is now at the forefront of space exploration. NASA turned to Musk’s company for a critical mission to rescue astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. Reflecting on his journey, Musk compared his PayPal ouster to Julius Caesar’s assassination but emphasized that avoiding bitterness paid off.
“If I had let my initial reactions take over, space would be dead,” Musk told Isaacson. Instead, he now believes, “karma may be real.”
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