The jury is not out on SpaceX and the problems they are solving. Affordable launch platforms are the limitation of the space industry. What they have achieved already has opened up the door for many companies that do not have the budgets of the large companies and governments. The hearings on SpaceX had little to do with the budgets proposed. Former astronauts referred to it as unethical and said SpaceX would kill people. We also were completely reliant on Russian launch platforms before SpaceX was successful. Now, 99% of the industry uses Falcon 9. It was 100% worth it to solve the problems they did, and they have advanced the space industry because of it.

I agree with the physics point. I am just happy to see someone actually taking risks in the name of science.