Its reputation from the game's launch lingers today, and I doubt the vanilla kit will ever be looked at differently.
As you probably know, the REEF-LUX excels at turf coverage and can get its special really quickly. At launch, Tenta Missiles functioned like they did in 2 and instantly depleted your special gauge once used, Because it could gain and use its special so quickly, it wasn't uncommon to see REEF-LUX users with double digit special use counts at the end of a match. Until the last major update, the REEF-LUX's full charge was unreliable, too, and nobody was using it for curling bombs, that's for sure. As a result of all of this, it gained its reputation as the weapon you use if you want to main Tenta Missiles. The nerf to Tenta Missiles is almost entirely BECAUSE of the REEF-LUX.
If we don't see another set with Tenta Missiles next season, I think it's pretty safe to conclude that they're soft retiring the special like they did with the Sting Ray in Splatoon 2, and that won't exactly help the stigma surrounding it. It's a strong main weapon in the right hands, especially since now its full charge lands more consistently, but it can't escape being used more often than not just for quick Tenta Missiles.