Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been awarded Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2021, a year in which his electric vehicle firm became the most valuable carmaker in the world and his rocket company ascended to the edge of space with an all-civilian crew.
Time described Musk as a “clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, and showman,” citing his endeavors, from his founding of SpaceX in 2002 to his involvement in the creation of the energy company SolarCity, in addition to Tesla, the world’s most valuable automaker.
“For creating solutions to an existential crisis, for embodying the possibilities and the perils of the age of tech titans, for driving society’s most daring and disruptive transformations, Elon Musk is TIME’s 2021 Person of the Year,” the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Edward Felsenthal, said.
Musk has almost 66 million Twitter followers after everything from hosting Saturday Night Live to posting about cryptocurrency and meme stocks. Unfortunately, some of his tweets have also gotten him in trouble in the past.
The honor, however, received sharp criticism in the United States, where Musk is controversial due to his stance on taxation, opposing a “billionaires tax.” According to a ProPublica study this year, Musk paid only minor tax rates concerning the considerable growth in his total wealth between 2014 and 2018, with Musk paying a “real” rate of 3.27 percent.
Senator Elizabeth Warren stated that the Time choice underscored the need for the tax law to be modified “so the person of the year would pay taxes and cease freeloading off everyone else.”
Furthermore, Time’s selection was questioned on Twitter by those who felt that other figures might be better deserving of distinction this year.
Since 1927, Time has picked a person of the year. According to the magazine, the selection reflects one individual, but often numerous people, who significantly impacted the country and the world throughout the calendar year. The designation is not always an honor. Instead, it acknowledges individuals who, according to the magazine, have “influenced the news, for better or for worse.”
Last year, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and US President-elect Joe Biden were named “Person of the Year” together. The title was given to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the past.
