But as bad as the false positives experience for innocent users and resulting negative publicity for the company might have been, it was an acceptable cost. The fact that spiraling fraud losses contributed to many of our competitors like eMoneyMail, PayMe, and PayPlace ceasing operation made this an easy choice—had PayPal not found a way to get fraud under control, it would have destroyed the company.

Elon called an emergency board meeting on Thursday, May 11, to oust the man he had hired as CEO just six months before. ... But when the meeting commenced it became evident that his pleas were falling on deaf ears; a fellow director cut off his slideshow with a resolute declaration: “Bill, it’s over.” Elon’s claim that Harris had failed to get the company to execute in the face of mounting obstacles carried the day.