Money's not his motivation? That's all this offer is, money. It's not like the board is offering him anything really exciting, like human sacrifice. He's already got all the toys, he makes his own orbital rockets. He needs nothing of this world.
It's 4-dimensional chess, you see: You can't recruit a replacement because the replacement will be blamed for the inevitable return of the share price to the auto industry comparables, so by appearing to throw a tantrum and diverting attention to himself, Elon is clearing the way for a move he planned all along. Y'all need to recognise genius.
"If you don't buy out my near-bankrupt solar company I'll leave", "If you settle with the SEC I'll leave". "If you don't give me $56 billion I'll leave".
