Occams razor is that it's what you see. It's not like he's out of the company, he's still chair of the board, but it makes sense that he does less of the day-to-day minutia and more broad strokes. He doesn't need to do that anymore, and it's probably best for the company that he doesn't.

Besides, he has his space company hobby.

Stepping down in general, or the timing?

No, not cynical at all. This is one of the most legally unethical people on the planet.