Re: SN8 flight was to test multiple concepts in one go
Based on the two hops (where I think a couple of the legs got crushed pretty badly despite the relatively low speeds) it didn't seem likely that they were going to work anyway. You may be right about the deploy as, on the hops, the legs did deploy much earlier and higher, but possibly this time it was intended to be later and lower so was in the dust cloud (shortly before it became a fire cloud)
I genuinely don't think SpaceX will care that it blew up - SN8 was already out of date compared to the next set of prototypes so, if they didn't move it off the launch pad by launching it, they were probably going to have to move it with the crane and dismantle it.
This way they have learned a huge amount and also possibly reconfirmed that the landing legs weren't up to it - which they already suspected (based on some Elon tweets)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
