Again, I do not dispute this claim and also do not see it as a problem. Folks working on it, including myself, would like to see it as a viable replacement for
any computational device. And it's not, right now.
There's a reason we work on it, though, and that's because of two reasons: (1) our current and insofar accurate understanding of physics says with certainty that a quantum computing device is superior to its classical counterpart, and (2) while the problem is not easy, there seems to be just the right number of engineering problems (signal integrity, signal routing, superconducting non-magnetic fab, etc.) in our way that we feel we can tackle them in a timely manner. Rigetti in particular is a company that believes that having a full stack team will allow these interdisciplinary problems to be solved faster.
No one, on our team at least, is disillusioned about where we are. As the article says, 8 qubit chips are in the final phases of validation. As I say, 8 qubit chips are simulatable faster on your shiny Intel chip. Does that mean the entire enterprise is useless? No. It is a stepping stone for a company that has raised less money than many CoolNewLikeUberButForX apps you see pop up here. I find that unimaginably remarkable.
When I answer questions about quantum computing, however, I want to share my and others' visions about it based off of what we know, in a relatively accurate fashion, that is understandable by a general audience.