Much more significant than nationalism is the fact that SpaceX is a private enterprise. Private space ventures are our only hope for purposeful success, sustained expansion, and the conquest of space.
So were Douglas, Grumman, North American and Rocketdyne. Those were the companies that put men on the Moon.
So too is Orbital Science, which has been launching satellites on a commercial basis for 30 years.
There's nothing 'significant' about the status of SpaceX as a company.
— Here’s the reason: The vast amount of brains, talents, special skills, and research facilities necessary for this project are not in the government. Nor can they be mobilized by the government in peacetime without fatal delay. Only American industry can do this job.
Destination Moon, 1950 (Loosely based on the book The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein, written 1949, published 1951)