And the solar panels SpaceX uses are super cheap as they basically just use high-binned terestrial silicon solar cells from Sunpower, then integrate the panels

And the solar panels SpaceX uses are super cheap as they basically just use high-binned terestrial silicon solar cells from Sunpower, then integrate the panels themselves. Conventional space-rated cells are on the order of $100-1000/Watt, while terrestrial cells are less than $1/Watt. So even though terrestrial cells are only, say, 22% efficient vs 29% efficient and even though they degrade a bit faster in space (a lifetime of, say, 12 years vs 30 years), SpaceX can save a LOT of money and be able to throw around massive amounts of solar power on their satellites for a lot cheaper than their competitors who use typical space-rated components. Do you have a link for that? I didn't find anything that looked relevant with a quick search for "spacex" "sunpower". The high efficiency n-type silicon solar cells that SunPower produces are great for terrestrial use, but significantly less radiation-tolerant than the more common p-type. (Which are in turn far less radiation-tolerant than the compound semiconductors that are preferred for space solar cells nowadays.) In such a low orbit and with such a short lifetime, maybe that fast degradation is fine.