Not everything has to have immediate effect to be good in the long run.

You can argue all day about Tesla and it's controversies, but Tesla basically spearheaded the movement of EVs. They showed the rest of the world how to build proper EVs and charging infrastructure when the traditional car makers were still refusing to move forward. And now western car makers are basically sitting ducks when Chinese EV makers are on the rise to take over the market. Stuff does not have to be perfect right now because tech can improve, and the know-how people built up now can still be used in generations after.

SpaceX also did not "just launch some spacecraft". They also spearheaded the way for reusable rockets, something that satellites rely on. You cannot deny that their Starlink system helped immensely in places without access to good internet, not only in warzones, but also in rural places where updating internet infrastructure is deemed a waste of money to corpos.