I think the FAA can see the writing on the wall – with Musk being so closely linked to the President-elect, come January 20 there is going to be a lot of pressure on them from the White House if they aren't keeping SpaceX happy. So might as well get ahead of the pressure and make them happy now.
Because we live in a world where people are more upset if the government is in bed with the space-n-rocket guy than companies engaging in mass surveillance, censorship, and suppression of ideas at their behest.