NEW YORK (AP) – Calling him a “clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, showman,” Time magazine named Tesla CEO Elon Musk as 2021 Personality of the Year.

Musk, who is also the founder and CEO of space exploration company SpaceX, recently passed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the richest person in the world as Tesla’s price hike pushed his net worth to about $ 300 billion. He owns about 17% of Tesla’s shares, which sold for almost $ 1,000 each on Monday.

Time cited the extent of Musk’s efforts, from his founding of SpaceX in 2002, to his involvement in founding the alternative energy company SolarCity in addition to Tesla, the world’s most valuable automotive company. The magazine emphasizes that its annual recognition is not an award, but rather a “recognition of the person who had the most influence on the events of the year, for good or for bad”.

The magazine also noted Musk’s influence over an army of followers (and investors) on social media, where he pinches the powerful as well as regulators trying to control a far from traditional cadre. In front of his 66 million Twitter followers, he offers extravagant help to the world and even drives his own followers and investors mad with the turmoil of the markets.

Although it has only become profitable in recent years, Tesla is by far the most valued automaker in the world, at one point this year surpassing the $ 1,000 billion market capitalization threshold. Detroit Ford and General Motors heavyweights are worth less than $ 200 billion combined.

Musk said last month that SpaceX would attempt to launch its futuristic bullet-shaped spacecraft into orbit in January. NASA contracted with SpaceX to use Starship to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2025. Musk said he plans to use the reusable ships to eventually land people on Mars.

Time pointed to Musk’s recent admission to his 66 million Twitter followers that half of his tweets were “made on a porcelain throne.” In his profile of the provocative CEO, Time pursued one of those stormy toilet tweets in detail before concluding: “This is the man who longs to save our planet and make us inhabit a new one.”

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