> Shuttle tiles were technically reusable

Would note that Shuttle tiles were never mass manufactured. The Shuttle’s shape meant lots of unique tiles. And its lack of mass production meant each tile was basically an artisanal object.

SpaceX aims to reüse tiles over many flights. But even if some tiles need replacing after each launch, that doesn’t tank Starship per se.

Maybe even throwing a used ship away as scrap metal away would work as a business case. The expensive part are the rocket engines, if they can be reused much would be won.