Elon Musk is named Time’s Person of the Year

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2021. Time magazine’s editors’ basis for choosing the billionaire entrepreneur is the man with the most influence over the previous 12 months. With his name ringing bells on the business, tech, Twitter, and crypto world, it’s not surprising.

Elon Musk is now the richest person in the world. Amidst the selling of stocks after the results of his Twitter poll, it didn’t affect his ranking as the wealthiest man. Moreover, his name has remained a respected figure as his ventures continue to explore and improve the world of space travel and automobiles.

Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote, ”Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too. In 2021, Elon Musk emerged not just as the world’s richest person but also as perhaps the richest example of a massive shift in our society.”

https://twitter.com/JonErlichman/status/1470386976536895492?s=20

Just this year, SpaceX made a breakthrough in history after launching the first space mission with an all-civilian crew. The mission also includes a cancer survivor. Even Netflix covered its launch complete with Elon Musk and the space crews’ interviews.

Aside from joining what others are addressing as the “billionaire space race”, NASA also chose Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build the next-generation lunar lander. While beating out two more contenders for a contract worth $3 billion. Amidst all the innovations, Elon Musk never stops.

This year, he also announced that Tesla will move forward in making technological advancements. One of which is their recent development of a humanoid robot – the Tesla Bot. The robot with an artificial intelligence will be launched by next year.

Congratulations to @elonmusk as he’s named 2021 Person of the Year by @TIME! pic.twitter.com/pOMuhPs2X5

— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) December 13, 2021

Time Evolves

On a side note, this honor has been Time’s tradition since 1927. It started as “Man of the Year” and has made changes in its recognitions. The title not only focuses on individuals but also the impacts of a movement, idea, or group.

In the last year of 2020, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden were Person of the Year together. Although the annual title isn’t considered an honor, the selection also includes a negative personality. In 1938, Adolf Hitler was named Man of the Year. Though Elon Musk is on a positive note with his continuous innovations.

Over the years Time has also made major changes by adding categories in 2019. This year, Simone Biles was the Athlete of the Year. While Olivia Rodrigo was the Artist of the Year. A previous title popular as “Guardians” is now Heroes of the Year. The scientists behind the Covid-19 vaccine has the title this year. They are Barney Graham, Katalin Kariko, Kizzmekia Corbett, and Drew Weissman.

Since Time is no longer a part of a larger magazine company that deeply focuses on entertainment and sports, they were able to add new titles this year. In 2018, CEO Marc Benioff acquired Time from Meredith Corp. Unlike the previous years, Time chose not to issue a list of Person of the Year contenders.

Moreover, Elon Musk is the wealthiest person on the planet. He has a net worth of $265.4 billion.