“questions remain whether these companies can make it on their own”
rather the understatement///
His standard business plan is to capture the market by undercutting on price and then make his money on the public offering. The price per launch he quotes for a Falcon 9 is way under what it’s costing him. An IPO would ferret that out in short order, which is why he keeps SpaceX private. He’s lost a ton on SpaceX and needs to recoup that in the DoD/NASA market.
>>“questions remain whether these companies can make it on their own”
If there really are questions, then they are largely rhetorical. None of these unicorn-powered companies could make it on their own.