A cursory glance at Coinbase's USDC's market cap [1] shows that it too is growing at almost exactly the same pace as tether's [2]. I think most players in this market would agree that Coinbase, for all of it's failings, is unlikely to be planning an exit scam at this point.
It doesn't disprove the whole thesis, and some elements of it might have merit, but at least one element of it seems weak to me.