You’re looking for a “gotcha” but my whole point is that people are judging SpaceX entirely on Elon being involved, rather than it’s actual merits.

My opinion shouldn’t matter here.

Please read a bit about Gwynne Shotwell. She’s amazing and runs the company very competently.

SpaceX ≠ Elon Musk

I think it’s not fair to say that iteration doesn’t ever include any steps back. Development isn’t always straightforward and it doesn’t always go perfectly.

This is not evidence to the contrary, especially when the company is intentionally trying to find the limits on a development article.

Falcon 9 (the only rocket they actually sell launches on) is one of the most reliable launch vehicles in the world.

I hate to be this guy, but this is just… not true. That’s not how this works at all. How is the government giving SpaceX money outside of a contract? They aren’t.

Everyone wants to find a reason to hate SpaceX because Musk, but the truth is SpaceX is a well-ran innovative company.