And I'd further observe in context that SpaceX has already delivered to the Space Station, in rockets designed to carry humans that simply haven't been certified and trusted by experience yet, as opposed to rockets that are fundamentally incapable of carrying humans for some reason. It's essentially impossible to have any more credibility here without actually having delivered astronauts to the space station, which is nearly the only step remaining.
I deeply respect the man for his vision. I watched a documentary on him. In 2008, he was close to bankruptcy. He had a fleet of Tesla cars that had to be recalled due to faults. SpaceX had had three failed launches and he had no money to pour in.
What did he do? He thought of trying for the fourth and final time. It worked!! In his own words, Elon said with tears in his eyes, that if the fourth launch had failed, he would have been broke. The next day he got a call from NASA. That saved SpaceX. I know hero worship is not very healthy, but can't help but marvel at Elon's vision.
