That's not how acquisitions work. Elon made the offer, it was accepted. Now the company has to continue to operate without his influence until the deal actually closes.
What's your citation for the notion that post-acquisition changes never happen before the deal fully closes? I grant that irreversible structural changes are rare, and cross-company integrations of course can't happen. But here this isn't one company acquiring another, and it's just changing one exec. Maybe you're right, but I've never seen anything showing that.
There isn't any guarantee that the deal will actually close, especially with tech stocks (and much of Elon's own wealth along with them) taking a dive.
Musk's financing is secured in part by his Tesla stock. Rumor had it that $740 was the share price where the lenders had the contractual right to withdraw their financing. As I write this, TSLA is $716. (Don't remember where I read that; but whether or not it's the actual price, I'm sure such a clause exists.)
If those changes were planned before Musk's offer, wouldn't changing the plans to that "keeping the lights on and making sure everything stays stable until the deal closes" be opposite of operating without his influence?
Operating without his influence means not inviting him into the boardroom and not taking directions from him. They can still make their own decisions on how best to prepare for the acquisition. That's something every company in that situation does.
