The 2021 TIME Person of the Year is….Elon Musk. TIME’s Editor-in-Chief pointed out that Elon has had an “extraordinary influence for Life on Earth and life off Earth, too.” It’s no secret that he had an extreme dominance over “many things in America’s life right now” — from the space industry, to the automobile industry, to his influence on social media with millions of followers.
In his Person of the Year interview, Elon opened up about his “confidence” in the future of his Tesla cars, and said that he hopes similar electric car companies have their own success, as well. He also admitted that there’s still “a lot of work to do” with the car’s autopilot feature, which has been called into question by many.
Every year, the magazine picks the most influential person, persons or group of the year to recognize. Regardless of whether the honoree’s influence is good or bad, this person(s) has had an impact on the world, which is why they are given the title. While TIME also has a reader’s poll, where fans can vote on who THEY think is most influential, this decision is made solely by the editors of the magazine.
Starting in 30 minutes find out who will be named TIME’s 2021 Person of the Year live on YouTube #TIMEPOY https://t.co/VBUFZoSLYB pic.twitter.com/rplvOzH8Ce
— TIME (@TIME) December 13, 2021
The winner of the 2021 reader’s poll was Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, with the results being announced earlier this month. Meanwhile, Olivia Rodrigo was named the Entertainer of the Year and Simone Biles was honored as Athlete of the Year. During the TIME Person of the Year reveal, Olivia and Simone were both recognized with segments. For the first time in the poll’s history, the winner for Person of the Year was announced on YouTube.
In 2020, TIME named president Joe Biden and first lady Kamala Harris as Person of the Year. The two won an historical presidential election in 2020 during a year when America was fighting hard for change. In 2019, it was environmental activist Greta Thunberg who was named Person of the Year. Before that, in 2018, “The Guardians” — a group of journalists who went “above and beyond” for their work — held the title.