I doubt Elon even could recognize him without someone reminding him who he is. I really doubt Elon is half as involved and invested in these things on a personal level as people think he is.

I think it will always come down to "who is reading the reports today" for Joshy, and he just got considerably lucky to be allowed out for that long this time.

Or they knew that letting him think he was safe and then pulling the rug out would upset him even more than just keeping him banned, which considering his temper tantrum over it yesterday was successful. Letting him think he could speak lowered his guard just enough to actually hurt him.