TIME magazine has named their 'Person of the year' for 2021 and the announcement didn't go well with netizens. Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk was named TIME magazine's 'Person of the Year 2021' on Monday, December 13. Twitterati, however, seemed 'pissed' at the announcement stating that Musk is an 'awful choice' for the honor.
TIME's editor-in-chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal said in a statement on Monday that the title 'Person of the Year' is a mark of influence and only a few people had more influence than Elon Musk on life on Earth. "In 2021, Musk emerged not just as the world's richest person but also as perhaps the richest example of a massive shift in our society," he said. Elon Musk surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the richest man in the world in 2021.
TIME further said that Musk was awarded the coveted title because the billionaire treaded historically in his space missions, which spanned his influence globally. It was indeed a decorated year for Elon Musk as he launched the first-ever mission to Earth's orbit with a crew of only tourists and no professional astronauts with SpaceX.
Introducing Musk as the 'Person of the Year' in his write-up, Felsenthal described his persona as a "blunt instrument that often seems to revel in division and aggressive mockery," which is often seen through his Tweets. The year, 2021, however, was not at all a bed of roses for Musk as the billionaire faced several lawsuits from former employees alleging racism and sexual harassment at the company's Fremont factory.
'Elon Musk is Person of the year for posting memes on Twitter'
Twitterati seemed 'unhappy' over TIME's choice for 'Person of the Year' honor and called it 'awful'."Musk is an awful choice as someone who committed securities fraud, advised Trump, forced his workers to get COVID, supports Texas Gov's extremist and regressive social policies and is a hypocrite about taking billions in government cash," wrote one user.
"Lets' change the rigged tax code so 'Person of the Year' would actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off of everyone," one person tweeted.
