The secret of SpaceX was that they got paid, but the government didn't manage the program (which is common with those other programs like SLS, Arianne, etc)

Also being in a position of 'up-and-comer' you definitely don't want to stay behind

But that being said, being reusable is great, but not a "be all, end all" objective. Sure, it can make launches cheaper, but not even Falcon 9 is reusable if they need to get to higher orbits (I believe the last F9H launch was fully expended)