Chapter 28: Strike Three: Kwaj, August 3, 2008

After Musk returns from his honeymoon to Australia in September 2000, he discovers his senior executives—Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Reid Hoffman, and David Sacks—have orchestrated a coup to remove him as CEO, citing fraud problems and his unfocused leadership. The board supports the change, and Musk is ousted, though he remains the largest shareholder. This chapter also explores Musk's risk-taking personality and concludes with his near-fatal bout with falciparum malaria contracted during a post-ouster vacation in South Africa.

By late summer 2000, tensions escalate at X.com as Levchin grows frustrated with Musk's dismissal of fraud concerns and innovative solutions like CAPTCHA technology. When Musk decides to take a belated honeymoon to Australia in early September, his rivals—Thiel, Levchin, Nosek, Hoffman, and Sacks—seize the opportunity to move against him. They obtain a petition from employees and present their case to Sequoia Capital's Michael Moritz, who agrees to support Thiel as temporary CEO. Musk senses trouble during his trip when subordinates begin pushing back on his orders. Upon learning of the coup via an email chain, he attempts unsuccessfully to reverse Moritz's decision and rushes home, where he plays Street Fighter to decompress. Hoffman meets Musk for a three-hour lunch where Musk argues for his vision of a "superbank" and tries to persuade Hoffman to become CEO instead, but fails. When the board votes to remove him, Musk accepts defeat gracefully, announcing his plan to take a sabbatical and start a new company. His remaining point of contention is a desire to serve as the company's public spokesperson, which Thiel forbids; Musk erupts, claiming his honor is at stake. The chapter then reflects on Musk's unusual willingness to amplify rather than mitigate risk—a trait that distinguishes him from peers like Thiel. After PayPal's sale to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, Musk reconciles with Levchin and others, later reflecting that the ouster, while painful, was ultimately beneficial. The chapter concludes with Musk's vacation to South Africa with Justine and Kimbal, where he contracts falciparum malaria in January 2001. After initially being misdiagnosed with viral meningitis, doctors discover the correct diagnosis just hours before it would have been fatal. Musk spends ten days in intensive care and takes five months to fully recover, later joking that "vacations will kill you" and that South Africa was still trying to destroy him.