Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been named the 'Person of the Year' for 2021 by Time magazine. Musk is considered a figure who will have a major influence throughout 2021, from being the richest person in the world to his success in space exploration.
"For creating solutions to existential crises, for embodying the possibilities and dangers of the age of tech giants, for driving society's boldest and most disruptive transformations, Elon Musk is Time's 2021 Person of the Year," said Time Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal. Reuters, Tuesday (14/12/2021).
"Even Elon Musk's adventures in space are a direct line from the first Person of the Year, Charles Lindbergh, who was chosen by editors in 1927 to commemorate his historic first solo trans-Atlantic flight over the Atlantic Ocean."
This year, Musk brought Tesla as one of the companies with a valuation of more than USD 1 trillion. His personal wealth also boosted, and now Musk holds the position of the richest person in the world.
SpaceX, his space company, also continues to launch rockets into space. His other companies such as Neuralink, Boring Company, and SolarCity are also growing.
Not only through his business, Musk is also known for his tweets and memes on Twitter that can affect the cryptocurrency market. This 50-year-old man also became a sensation when he became a Saturday Night Live presenter, and sold all of his properties.
The man who was born in Pretoria, South Africa has shown his talent from an early age. He made video games at the age of 12 and sold them to a computer magazine for $500.
In 1999, Compaq bought Zip2, the company he co-founded with his brother Kimbal, for $22 million. When PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002, Musk, who is one of the top brass, pocketed USD 180 million and soon he founded SpaceX.
Musk and Person of the Year had become a trending topic on Twitter. Many netizens congratulated Musk, but there were also those who took advantage of this moment to criticize Musk.
Elon Musk follows in the footsteps of several tech personalities who were voted Time magazine's Person of the Year. Previously, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also held this title.