Time’s ‘worst choice ever,’ says, critics Elon Musk as Person of the Year

1. Time’s ‘worst choice ever,’ says, critics Elon Musk as Person of the Year. Time’s Person of the Year for 2021 is Elon Musk. Mr. Musk’s efforts and commitment to a cleaner environment were acknowledged by the publication. Time magazine’s selection of Tesla entrepreneur Elon Musk as their person of the year for 2021 has been criticized due to his tax stance, resistance to unions, and downplaying the hazards of Covid. Musk, who is also the creator and CEO of SpaceX, recently surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the world’s wealthiest person, as the soaring value of Tesla shares increased his net worth to about $300 billion (£227 billion). Time described Musk as a “clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, and showman,” citing the breadth of his endeavors, from his founding of SpaceX in 2002 to his involvement in the

2. creation of the alternative energy company SolarCity, in addition to Tesla, the world’s most valuable car company. The journal stressed that their yearly honor was not a reward, but rather “recognition of the individual who had the biggest effect on the events of the year, for good or bad.” Popes, Ebola healthcare workers, and Greta Thunberg have already received the prize, as have Hitler and Stalin, who each earned it twice. It was changed to “The Computer” in 1982. The award, however, received harsh criticism in the United States, where Musk is a divisive figure due to his stance on taxation, opposing a “billionaires tax” proposed by some. According to a ProPublica study this year, he and other renowned super-wealthy persons paid very tiny tax rates relative to the enormous growth in his overall fortune between 2014 and 2018, with Musk paying a “real” rate of 3.27 percent. While lawful, the rates highlight America’s tax laws’ inability to tax growth in wealth obtained from assets in the same manner that salaries — the primary source of income for most Americans – are taxed. Senator Elizabeth Warren stated on Twitter that the Time choice underscored the need for the tax law to be modified “so the person of the year Elon Musk would actually pay taxes and cease freeloading off everyone else.”Time’s ‘worst choice ever,’ says, critics Elon Musk Person of the Year. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said the announcement was a good time to remind people that Musk “illegally threatened to take away stock options if employees unionized,” an apparent reference to a 2019 National Labor Relations Board finding regarding a tweet in which Musk wrote: “Why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?” Musk also sparked controversy in 2020 by downplaying the hazards of Covid in a series of tweets, and despite a municipal “shelter-in-place” order, he originally left his northern California

3. facility open until suspending output. Kurt Eichenwald, the author, called it the “worst choice ever.” Time magazine also underlined Musk’s influence over an army of ardent followers (and investors) on social media, where he skewers the powerful as well as authorities seeking to rein in a leader who is everything but conventional. Using his 66 million Twitter followers, he gives ridiculous advice to the globe while driving even his own fans and investors insane with churning markets. He was sued by stock market authorities in 2018 for tweeting about taking Tesla private, and they claimed in writing to Tesla this year that two more tweets were not pre-approved by the company’s attorneys, as required by a court settlement in the previous case. Despite just being profitable in recent years, Tesla is by far the most valuable automobile business in the world, reaching the $1 trillion market capitalization benchmark earlier this year. The total value of traditional giants such as Ford and General Motors is less than $200 billion. Musk said last month that SpaceX will aim to launch its bullet-shaped Starship into space in January. Nasa has hired SpaceX to utilize Starship to transport people to the lunar surface as early as 2025. Musk stated that he intends to utilize the reusable spacecraft to someday land humans on Mars.

4. Musk recently said on Twitter that half of his posts were “crafted on a porcelain throne.” Time went on to highlight one of those bathroom Twitter storms in their profile of the outspoken boss before concluding: “This is the man who desires to preserve our planet and find us a new one to inhabit.” Users on Twitter questioned the pick, suggesting that other people would be better deserving of attention this year. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were named Time magazine’s person – or persons – of the year for 2020.