"Abusing people they have power over" isn't a behavior that's linked in any way to being on the autism spectrum, and I've not seen any mention that Linus self-identifies as being on the spectrum, so let's please refrain from Diagnosing People Via The Internet :)
Oh, I wouldn't say he is; certainly what's been posted here about him tends to suggest that he *does* know better (if anything, all those quotes make him sound like a narcissistic SOB, which all those people treating him like a god must not do much to discourage). But the kind of community that mentality has created is certainly hospitable to *some* people on spectrum (I have a high-functioning autistic teenage son who knows better most of the time, but still tries to rationalize some of his insensitive behavior as just playing around, or says he can't help himself) who might see an environment where little attention is paid to hand-holding or social niceties as one easier to navigate than the kind of supportive community we're trying to build.
Daniel Case