No they didn't. The media talking heads and "influencers" didn't know WTF was really going on and ran with whatever emotional BS they usually do.
You proclaim to be a "fanatic of good science and engineering" and yet decry the very process SpaceX has been using to make a complete mockery of everything NASA has done to date and surpassing NASA in every conceivable metric to lower the cost of getting stuff to orbit...
As stated, it was a FLIGHT TEST. It FLEW. Everything else is data gathering to make the next iteration that much better. They'll probably do a few of these, refining each, until it's as safe as the rest of their launch systems...
Then things will get really interesting.
Those who say a thing cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.
Little shrimp cries out once more...