Time magazine names tech giant Elon Musk “Person of the Year”. Still, Musk remains a controversial figure.
New York – The electric car and space pioneer Elon Musk was named “Person of the Year” in 2021 by the US magazine Time. “Few people have more influence on life on earth and potentially outside of the earth than Elon Musk”, Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal explained the decision on Monday (13.12.2021).
Elon Musk: Tesla founder named “Person of the Year” by Time magazine
The title goes to the people who had the greatest impact on the news during the year. 50-year-old Elon Musk is the founder of the electric car manufacturer Tesla and the space company SpaceX. Time magazine’s justification also stated that Musk had the quality of “creating solutions to an existential crisis, embodying the opportunities and dangers of the age of technology titans and driving the most daring and sweeping transformations of society”.
Founder of Tesla and SpaceX: Elon Musk named “Person of the year”
In 2020 Time magazine named Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as “People of the Year”. Controversial personalities have already received the title of “Person of the Year”, which has been awarded since 1927, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and former US President Donald Trump. Musk is also considered controversial: He repeatedly attracted attention with tweets in which he apparently tried to manipulate the price of Tesla shares. Environmentalists also criticize Elon Musk for building a mega-factory in Brandenburg (without a building permit) and warn of environmental damage.
Elon Musk was born in South Africa and founded PayPal before Tesla and SpaceX. Thanks to the massive price gains in Tesla shares, Musk has been the richest man in the world since 2021.
He replaced Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in first place. Forbes magazine currently estimates Elon Musk’s net worth at $ 265 billion – around 234 billion euros. According to the German Press Agency, Tesla’s market value exceeded one trillion dollars in October. Musk’s wealth is largely based on owning stocks that are not taxed until they are sold. (df with AFP / dpa)
Header list image: © Theo Wargo / afp
