Yes, this was something that the industry figured out in 2007. But because Musk has a lot of money, people do whatever he says, no matter how ignorant and deadly and dangerous. He never even had a cogent rationale, just absurd amounts of money. The shame is so profound and widespread it's hard to fathom really.
The renderings look like the cover of a Young Adult Sci Fi novel by Robert H. Heinlein. Have Spacesuit, Will Travel comes to mind. Probably the first true Science Fiction I have ever read!