People Have a Lot to Say About Elon Musk Being Named Person of the Year

Elon Musk, Person of the Year?

That’s the opinon of Time magazine, which is rolling out its usual year-end coverage, which also includes Athlete of the Year Simone Biles and Entertainer of the Year Olivia Rodrigo. The Person of the Year distinction, though not a formal award, is bestowed annually upon an individual the publication believes has had the most influence over the past year’s happenings.

In the accompanying feature for the 2021 edition, Musk is quoted as saying that he and former partner Grimes (who recently released a new song titled “Player of Games” that have some speculated was inspired by the SpaceX founder) are currently “semi-separated” due to differing individual needs. The Tesla CEO also addressed a topic that is often associated with him and his various enterprises, i.e. cryptocurrency.

Speaking on the latter, Musk expressed doubt that crypto will fully replace fiat currency. He also pushed back against criticism about his use of Twitter with regards to his posts’ potential impact on markets. “Markets move themselves all the time,” he argued.

As expected, Musk—described by the publication as a “clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, showman, [and] cad”—bagging the Person of the Year cover has drawn some inspired reactions. While Musk’s more fervent supporters were quick to celebrate the cover, critics of the frequently-at-the-center-of-controversy entrepreneurial figure used the opportunity to point out (among other things) Musk’s social media behavior and a racial harassment lawsuit centered on Tesla.

Below, see a sampling of those reactions.