It is only "painfully clear" to those who know nothing about it. Asking anyone who worked with him says otherwise. Examples include engineers like Tom Mueller and other early SpaceX people, astronauts like Garrett Reisman and many more. Or don't believe them, watch any in-depth technical interview with him. There's three-hour long videos on Raptor engines on YouTube where he speaks off-the-cuff on in-depth details about rocket engine design and hypersonic aerodynamics, among other things.