This is all reasonable steps toward major progress. And yes, Musk IS making progress on all fronts, at a good rate. There will be failures. There will be delays. There will be cost overruns. He’s playing all those as part of the game, and winning.
Yes SpaceX is launching a Falcon Heavy with novelty cargo. You don’t do the first launch of a gigantic controlled explosion with expensive/irreplaceable cargo, you just put something in it so the payload bay isn’t completely empty, and send it up.
Yes the Falcon Heavy may soon be abandoned in favor of the BFR. It’s a necessary step in developing the long-term technology.
Remember: just re-using the first (very expensive) stage was impossible a couple years ago. Now it’s normal enough it’s almost boring. That’s a HUGE breakthrough, and Musk made it happen.
Etc.
If you want such progress to happen AT ALL, someone has to do it - would you rather a team of bored bureaucrats be tasked with putting a city on Mars, or someone who’s so enthused about it he’s willing to risk putting his own high-value custom car on it as a test subject?
Yes SpaceX is launching a Falcon Heavy with novelty cargo.
...
If the launch is a success, Musk and his companies will receive a fortune in free publicity in the coming years. It reminds me of something Trump would do.