Time’s choice of Elon Musk as Person of the Year was as popular as you’d expect
Another year, another missed opportunity for Time to make Betty White their Person of the Year. In fact, 2021’s POTY is Elon Musk – tech billionaire, space junkie and panner of rescue divers, not to mention prolific tweeter.
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
The opening paragraph of the announcement article in Time has to be seen to be believed – and you may still not believe it.
‘The richest man in the world does not own a house and has recently been selling off his fortune. He tosses satellites into orbit and harnesses the sun; he drives a car he created that uses no gas and barely needs a driver. With a flick of his finger, the stock market soars or swoons. An army of devotees hangs on his every utterance. He dreams of Mars as he bestrides Earth, square-jawed and indomitable. Lately, Elon Musk also likes to live-tweet his poops.’
Musk was appreciative.
Thank you!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 13, 2021
Other tweeters had a very different response.
1.
sure, the scientists who created a vaccine that saved millions of lives was nice, but they didn't host SNL https://t.co/uxF0vjEwTk
— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) December 13, 2021
2.
A billionaire who has been found guilty of illegal union-busting by @NLRB should probably not be @TIME's Person of the Year. https://t.co/CWmaAAuO81
— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) December 13, 2021
3.
Is this a joke?
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) December 13, 2021
4.
Dolly Parton, not Elon Musk deserved to be Time’s Person of the Year.
— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) December 13, 2021
5.
Here’s an idea: How about we celebrate real frontline workers instead of a billionaire who increased his wealth by $228,000,000,000 during a global pandemic? https://t.co/cEzG437WE8
— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) December 13, 2021
6.
Just a reminder that the person of the year doesn't necessarily have to be someone who is admired.
I'm sure the accompanying story won't just be facile well-written wannabe New Journalism prose and will problematize the man accura…
Oh. https://t.co/xzORf7AMhN pic.twitter.com/d1l99FCrb2
— Torsten Kathke (@torstenkathke) December 13, 2021
7.
**LEAKED** The original Time Person of the Year cover for Elon pic.twitter.com/YMlHW252bV
— Trung Phan 🇨🇦 (@TrungTPhan) December 13, 2021
8.
Time Magazine got this one right. We live in depraved, acquisitive, intellectually bankrupt times and nobody embodies our wretched zeitgeist quite like this bloated sociopath. Literally the hero we deserve. https://t.co/E7b6bxrySC
— E.W. Niedermeyer (@Tweetermeyer) December 13, 2021
9.
It's like God is showing him the next stupid thing to say https://t.co/mQ3BTd1R0S
— Reginald D Hunter (@reginalddhunter) December 13, 2021
10.
everyday resistance from the cover editor who said 'okay, but we're making his forehead fucking huge' https://t.co/xhKb5oE5hG
— Hugh Brechin (@HughRBrechin) December 13, 2021
11.
It’s *TIME* for Elon Musk to pay his fair share in taxes. https://t.co/cKTkOKDtpc
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) December 13, 2021
12.
Fixed it for you! pic.twitter.com/JNQyD0bDsY
— BetterWorld2@Socrates091 (@World2Better) December 13, 2021
13.
surely time person of the year should be dr who
— joe (@mutablejoe) December 13, 2021
Musk is arguably not the most controversial of Time’s Person of the Year decisions. There were also these –
Adolf Hitler: 1938
Joseph Stalin: 1939 and 1942
Ayatollah Khomeini: 1979
They may just put tax avoidance and space pollution into a whole other context.
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Donald Trump mocked Greta Thunberg for winning Time person of the year and her response was perfect
Source Time Image Time, Screengrab