Now just putting conspiracy theory hat for a moment, but can it be the real reason behind Travis walking out? Board got to know that this would come out and got rid of him to do some damage control?
Large organizations are always making decisions behind the scenes. I wouldn't call it a "conspiracy theory" in the "tin foil hat" sense. I would just call it a theory where actors conspired to oust Travis.
I think that's still called a conspiracy theory, but maybe with more supporting evidence than "aliens stole Waymo lidar".