I think Ilya was naive and didn't see this coming and good that he reliased quickly announced on twitter and made the right call to get Sam back.
Otherwise it was like Ilya vs Sam showdown,and people were siding towards Ilya for agi and all. But this behind the scene looks like corporate power struggle and coup.
It’s also weird that he’s not admitting to any of his own reasons, only describes some trivial reasons he seems to have coaxed out of the other board members?! Perhaps he still has his own reasons but realizing he’s destroying what he loves he’s trying to stay mum? The other board members seem more zealous for some reason, maybe not being employed by the LLC. Or maybe the others are doing it for the sake of Ilya or someone else that prefers to remain anonymous? Okay, clearly I have no idea.
My feeling is Ilya was upset about how Sam Altman was the face of OpenAI, and went along with the rest of the board for his own reasons.
That's often how this stuff works out. He wasn't particularly compelled by their reasons, but had his own which justified his decision in his mind.