Sure Elon might be motivated by "information theory" or whatever but it's like if Trump heard something about "information theory" and then acted on it.
Was Elon always this dumb? I dunno. He was certainly never the SUPERGENIUS of his myth. He's a rich guy who hasn't done "the reading" in decades, but assumes he knows it all and assumes everyone else knows nothing.
You can see how all these "tech" (really "money") guys talk on social media and in quotes to the press. They know the bumper sticker versions of pop science concepts and think it makes them Nobel candidates. It's enough to impress journalists, usually!