Elon Musk has been named Time’s 2021 Person of the Year.
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) is TIME’s 2021 Person of the Year #TIMEPOY https://t.co/8Y5BhIldNs pic.twitter.com/B6h6rndjIh
— TIME (@TIME) December 13, 2021
Time’s accredited titling goes to the person that it sees as being the most influential or having had the most influence during the past year (2021).
Time editor-in-chief, Edward Felsenthal described Musk as “a person with extraordinary influence on life on Earth, and potentially life off earth too.”
Looking at Musk’s repertoire of headlines in 2021 alone – he’s been a pretty busy guy.
This year, Musk’s company SpaceX launched the first all-civilian space mission (the directive of another wealthy businessman) that would pave the path for the ordinary (civilians) to experience the extraordinary by orbiting the Earth (which was also charitable in spirit as it aimed to raise funds for St Jude Children’s Hospital).
Also Read: Small step for Elon, giant steps for Space tourism: First all-civilian mission
Another notable achievement for Musk in 2021 (depending on who you ask) was also his rise to and above the throne of the world’s wealthiest as he was named the world’s wealthiest person in history.
Also Read:Musk is so rich he could fund SA for two years and still be wealthier than our richest local
In personal achievements, Musk officially owns no homes in an endeavour toward inner (and tax) freedom.
Also Read:Elon Musk officially owns no houses – but why?
Some will argue, however, that Musk’s most powerful achievement stems from endeavours toward sustainable energy. The Tesla tycoon’s highly innovative electronic vehicles will undoubtedly have a positive influence on the environment and are perhaps the blueprint model for the future.
In an interview with Time in relation to the Person of the Year announcement, Musk expressed:
“Our intent with Tesla was always that we would serve as an example to the car industry, and hope that they also make electric cars so that we can accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.”
And of course, there’s Musk’s space colonisation dream which he believes will ‘save’ humanity as The Verge recalls.
However, beyond his achievements, what the award really speaks to is influence – something society naturally attributes to achievements. As Time notes, the ‘award’ goes to “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year, for better or for worse.”
Musk’s placement as highly influential is right on the nose, and one only needs to look at his ability to influence mass cryptocurrency mayhem to evidence this.
Musk caused so much controversy because of his ‘slippery’ Twitter fingers that hacker collective ‘Anonymous’ even allegedly threatened the wealthy stallion earlier this year.
Also Read: Elon Musk allegedly threatened by ‘Anonymous’ hacker collective
Whether the power of influence is good or bad in Musk’s case is something of a grey area, but immensely influential is still a fitting term for Elon’s standing in the world.
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Picture: Time