It was a test flight, and most test flights with that sort of “we don’t know if it will work, that’s why it is a test!” motive launch big concrete plugs. So launching a car that was a prototype and presumably had don it’s job of proving and disproving various assertions is not really any more wasteful then the concrete plug.
If I wanted to argue against it, my best counter argument would be “yes, launching the car may get some PR, but if the launch goes wrong it also spatters some unpleasant bits into the atmosphere or even onto a wide span of the surface (LiIon batteries are very common items, but also pretty nasty things)”
Most people that make a “it probably will work in space” device find it expensive enough that they don’t want to put it on the “it might below up, we haven’t had a test flight in this configuration before, that’s why we are doing this one!” They vastly prefer a “isn’t gonna blow up” flight, preferably with a low pounds to orbit price, or a grant to pay whatever the price actually is.
Even if you can find people that are like “yeah, I’ll take an unquantified risk on my once in a lifetime build” you also have to get the timing to work out.
…on the other hand, it is perfectly fine to hate Musk for being a dick in general, and doing a large number of selfish arrogant destructive things. I just don’t think this particular thing really was one. He absolutely does more than enough dick/selfish/arrogant/destructive (choose up to 4) things to qualify for a target of hate.
He just isn’t a cartoon villain, some of the things he does don’t qualify under that umbrella (i.e. he is an actual villain, has a complex back story, and sometimes mixes a bit of good or neutral stuff in with all his bullshit). Or maybe he is a cartoon villain, many actual villains found in cartoons have a complex backstory and mix some good in with the neutral. Still a villain.
