Did Lucid’s recent selloff feel like market manipulation to anyone else?

I can’t help but wonder if what happened with Lucid recently was a classic example of market manipulation.
Bankruptcy rumors started spreading, retail investors panicked and sold, the stock fell, and then the CEO said bankruptcy wasn’t on the table.
If someone intentionally spread false rumors to trigger panic selling, bought shares at lower prices, and then benefited from the rebound, that would be a serious form of market manipulation.
I’m not saying that’s what happened, but the sequence of events certainly raises questions and reminds us how quickly markets can move on rumors instead of facts.
What do you all think? Was this just speculation getting out of hand, or does the recent price action seem suspicious?