Setting the Record Straight

Elon Musk wants you to know he wasn't fired from PayPal. The Tesla Inc. (TSLA) and SpaceX CEO took to social media platform X on Friday to push back against claims circulating in a video that suggested Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) co-founder Peter Thiel had terminated him from PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL). The same video claimed that when SpaceX was on the brink of collapse, Musk turned to Thiel's fund and received his PayPal shares "in an hour."

Not so fast, says Musk. He was the CEO, he explains, and "Peter [Thiel] reported to me, so could not fire me." Instead, Musk characterizes his departure as a "palace coup by most (not all) of the exec team and most of the board." The reasoning behind the move? Concerns that Musk's decisions were "too risky." Sound familiar?

Musk also emphasized his position as the "largest shareholder" in PayPal, stating emphatically that "there was nothing anyone could have done" to strip him of those shares. It's a narrative that contrasts sharply with the popular Silicon Valley lore about his PayPal days.

Tesla's Trillion-Dollar Paradox

The PayPal clarification comes at an interesting moment for Musk's business empire. Tesla recently solidified its status as the world's most valuable automaker, with a market capitalization surpassing $1.58 trillion. That figure dwarfs the combined valuations of legacy giants like Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), BYD Co. Ltd. (BYDDY) (BYDDF), Ford Motor Co. (F), and General Motors Co. (GM).

But here's where things get interesting: that massive valuation hasn't translated into sales momentum. Tesla's U.S. sales dropped 23% in November, reflecting broader weakness in electric vehicle demand. The company still commands a dominant 56% market share in the U.S. EV sector, but the sales decline raises questions about whether the stock price is racing ahead of the business fundamentals.

SpaceX Reaches for the Stars (and Wall Street)

Meanwhile, SpaceX is reportedly considering a public listing next year with an eye-popping $1.5 trillion valuation target. Musk first floated the IPO possibility during Tesla's annual shareholder meeting in November, and Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives has suggested that the "time is right" for SpaceX to go public.

The timing could be fortuitous. President Donald Trump recently signed an Executive Order outlining ambitious plans for space exploration, including returning humans to the lunar surface by 2028. For a company that's already dominating the commercial space flight sector, a supportive White House policy environment doesn't hurt the investment thesis.

Whether it's ancient PayPal grievances or future space exploration, Musk continues to operate at the intersection of technology, ambition, and controversy. The palace coup narrative might not change history, but it certainly adds another layer to the Musk mythology.