Erm...
PayPal was sold for 1.5bil in the early 2000s. Not exactly an eye glaring sum by today’s standard. But 1.5bil back in the early 2000s definitely not a small sum. Will eBay pay 1.5bil for a company that has no substance?
That isn't the point. Paypal was nowhere near the company it is today back in 2002, Elon Musk did not build the company to where it is today, that is a fact.
Whether SpaceX is financially viable or not ain’t the point here. We are talking about credibility. Will NASA dare to put 2 human beings on their rocket if the company has no substance?
The whole point of SpaceX is to lower the cost of launching rockets, they didn't reinvent the wheel, people have been sending people to space and even to the moon since the 1960s, he merely made it cheaper. Financial viability is the selling point of SpaceX. And why would people invest in a company if its not financially viable anyway? Many companies can make awesome products, but very few companies can make awesome products that can clear the market and make a good profit for its shareholders.
You are comparing a fraudster to someone that can deliver something of substance?
Elon Musk promised full self driving by end of 2017 a few years ago, its 2020 now and Teslas are still nowhere near FSD, what is really hilarious is that they have been charging people full price for FSD for years now despite it being essentially vaporware. Selling people a product that does not work at full price... thats not very different from what Holmes was doing with her product.
"Fake it till you make it" is the modus operandi in both cases, not all that different if you ask me.