Elon Musk

[Thumpalumpacus]

Certainly there are no other aerospace companies that operate that way.

Of course they do. That's what test regimes are all about, and there's not an airplane manufactured in America that isn't handled this way. Build it, fly it, identify issues, tweak the design, test to see if the fix works ... lather, rinse, repeat. The process often works will; it isn't unique to SpaceX; and sometimes we learn that what we're trying to build is simply beyond the available tech. If it's still in development don't you think it's premature to assume its success?

I'd imagine other industries practice this heuristic as well. Pharmaceuticals, for instance. I doubt they just release drugs into the wild without extensive testing. Auto manufacturers probably do this as well.