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> consumers have gotten to watch crash after crash and explosion after explosion.

No, it definitely deserves to be downvoted.

It's a valid point. Even though we informed spaceflight observers know that these explosions were experimental (and would've happened anyway, more violently even, when boosters were expended), the average member of the public may not be familiar with the nuances of booster recovery.

It's plausible that it could become a PR issue.

People watching videos on Youtube are not SpaceX consumer/customer. Or am I missing something?

Here is a full SpaceX manifest both past and future: https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceX/wiki/launches/manifest

As it stands right now, they are most likely the largest rocket company right now (or at least the top 2), they seem to be adding more order every other month. Not a sign of their customer base losing confidence in them.

This is true, of course, but I think the grandparent is talking about the far future. Eventually, if Musk's and/or Bezos' visions are to be realized, the average person will be a consumer — whether for space tourism, earth-to-earth transit, industry, or colonization.

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