I wonder if there's a slight possibility that Musk stopped caring about Tesla's long term success when his payment was cancelled, and he is now willing to temporarily inflate the price and dump the stock.

I imagine he staked quite a bit of Tesla stock as collateral for the many billions in loans still owed for the Twitter purchase. If the stock value declines too much (down 35% this year), his creditors will want a higher interest rate to reflect the higher risk of default.

This is one of those things that Software Engineers don't believe until there is an extended Bear market: There is always a line of eager beavers outside your company's door just waiting to take your place if you leave. The last decade (especially the hot job market of 2020-2022) lulled everyone into a feeling of job security and even irreplaceability.