Quote Originally Posted by BladesNBarrels View Post
The commentators saying that clearing the tower was the only goal?
No, that wasn't the only goal. But destruction of the launch facilities (what Musk quite accurately calls "Stage 0") would have been a severe setback.

Despite the RUD, the launch was hugely successful.

This isn't the first time SpaceX has had separation problems. On one of the early Falcon 1 flights (third?) the booster actually ran into the upper stage after separation, causing the launch to fail.

O2