Reuse alone does not make Mars cheap: SpaceX's 2017 plan credits 2-2.5 of its 4.5 orders of magnitude to full reuse and about 2 to orbital refilling and propellant made on Mars, so ISRU propellant is on the critical path.

Evidence 1 passage

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  Most of the improvement would come from full reusability—somewhere between two and two-and-a-half orders of magnitude. The other two orders of magnitude would come from refilling in orbit, propellant production on Mars, and choosing the right propellant.

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