As for the complaints about "not doing science", the current phase is a proof of concept test of a "trickey" orbital manuvere through the Van Allen belt to prove that it can be done and the insturments still function. If it works, then around 22:00 EST the thrusters will reignite and send the car towards Mars.
They are also testing the performance of the space suit.
All of this is purely for testing, to collect data needed for an eventual trip to Mars.
Pretty g epic. A few people have an idea, and 15 years later their company employs 6,000 people to launch the largest rocket since the Saturn V, and land two of the three stages.
Epic.
Edit:
And for the comments about this being a publicity stunt, they are missing the fact that this was done as a celebration for the employees. Yeah, a solid concrete block for a test payload would have been sensible, but now the employees have a much cooler story to tell.
He somehow managed to make a heavy rocket launch more awesome than it already is.