Given how long Elite has been going, I'm very surprised nobody has tackled a similar project.
I think
hardcore space sims aren't as popular, and have a long development cycle.
No Mans Sky is a competitor in a manner of speaking, but it obviously appeals to a different and more casual audience.
It's probably more popular than Elite for that reason, but looking to why a game like Star Citizen is more popular than Elite I think comes down to marketing, something which Elite is lacking... Low risk also means low reward, which is what Elite sadly seemingly going for?
As divisive as people see the subject of Ship interiors, I think that sort of news would self-market the game again. "Oh that feature they promised many years ago, they're coming back to do it?" It would make a lot of people who laid down the game for good to come back and check it out.
As many people point out though, if the overall experience is lackluster and it's just another side-activity then people will just leave again.
I think the biggest advantage ED holds is its wide range of activities and people out in socials have been saying they're waiting for FDev to tie them together.
If they choose to treat their players and engagements like metrics, they will eventually see how that worked out for other companies.