2 ms·

I'm pretty certain that they'd rather try and fail to land than not try at all.

• ncmncm 5y ago
  There is little doubt they could land, if equipped. At issue is how much it costs to have the capability and to get ready to loft again. A SS with flaps, tiles, full-size tankage, and a gimbaled sea-level Raptor triplet will cost a lot more to build, fly, and refurbish than one with none of those. If you could fit 50 more birds in a custom throwaway, in place of tankage, it would be hard to justify not. (Which is not to say Elon won't insist, anyway.) So landing and turning (a few of) them around will be a marketing play.