Funny how this stuff works. The hot whiz-bang kid rewriting all the rules can become tomorrow's rent-seeking cronyistic old guard overnight. I wonder if a rocket vs sabre engine war is about to start. I hope so. Easier access to orbit and a 4 hour trip from NY to Tokyo would be pretty amazing.
I think you're forcing that narrative, the old guard does not tend to start out their statements with "I may have totally incorrect assumptions here, but...".
Maybe, but I imagine someone like Musk would be pretty good with rhetoric and knows if he utters the wrong things at a press conference it could lead to disastrous results for his companies. He's just being diplomatic because it pays to be diplomatic.
Or, you know, he could actually just be telling the truth in saying that he is willing to concede he may be wrong on the issue if his assumptions are wrong.
