This seems pretty far fetched to me. It's also likely that Elop just realizes (perhaps more so given his background) how much Microsoft wants to be a major play

This seems pretty far fetched to me. It's also likely that Elop just realizes (perhaps more so given his background) how much Microsoft wants to be a major player in this game, how much money and talent they're willing to throw at it and knows that there's an opportunity for someone to be there and 'ride the bear' as they go forward. (Ride the bear being a reference to what Gates/Ballmer said they did in Microsofts early days with IBM http://www.pbs.org/nerds/part2.html http://www.pbs.org/nerds/part2.html)