Elon Musk is one of the great personalities in the world, and therefore everything he does or says has a truly global impact. It is no surprise, then, that the South African-born businessman has been honored by TIME magazine as the most outstanding person of 2021 .
The ratification of Tesla as the company that is permanently on the cutting edge of innovation in the electric mobility market, coupled with the advances of SpaceX in the private – and public-private space race – are only part of what has Elon Musk achieved throughout this year, which is gradually approaching its end.
Their impact goes far beyond the achievements of their companies. In fact, Elon Musk has become such an influential person that he is capable of shaking the Stock Market (or the cryptocurrency market) with a couple of statements . And many times he has not even needed to open his mouth; His tweets have been as effective as a public appearance, although that has not always worked in his favor.
But the entrepreneur's ambitions are not limited to electric mobility and the conquest of space. The study of the brain and its fusion with computers and artificial intelligence has also earned him as much applause as looks of distrust. Led by Neuralink, Elon Musk believes he has what it takes to restore full motor skills to paralyzed people; So another of his great challenges is to revolutionize modern medicine .
Elon Musk and a recognition of his influence
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Just because Elon Musk is TIME magazine's most outstanding person of 2021 doesn't necessarily mean that everyone who recognizes his accomplishments will give him a blank check. Robert Zuvrin, founder of the Mars Society, an entity that received an important donation from Musk in 2001, makes clear that peculiar feeling that Musk awakens:
He is a humanist, not in the sense of being a nice person, because he is not. He wants eternal glory for doing great feats, and he is an asset to the human race because he defines a great feat as something that is great for mankind. He lusts for glory. For him, money is a means, not an end.
Whether through PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, or even as the host of Saturday Night Live, Elon Musk has achieved such influence that it is impossible to deny . The title of most outstanding person of 2021 is a logical recognition; but it does not seek to hide or disguise the controversies in which the businessman has also been plunged. Everything is an indivisible part of the person – and the character – who has set out to revolutionize the world, and who is achieving it.
A busy 2021
Reuters Elon Musk's year has been a busy one. In the first months of this year, Tesla announced a millionaire investment in Bitcoin and that from that moment on it would accept it as a means of payment to buy its electric cars. However, the environmental and energy consumption impact of mining the cryptocurrency forced a reversal of this determination. Despite this, the businessman quickly chose a new cryptoasset as his favorite: Dogecoin. The memecoin became the subject of discussion for several weeks; to the point that during its appearance on SNL its price plummeted and there was a collapse in platforms such as Robinhood due to the large number of transactions.
But beyond Tesla's phenomenal year, in which the company broke records and reached a trillion-dollar valuation, Elon Musk also had his way with SpaceX. The aerospace company experienced great strides in Starship testing – despite some explosive events – and expanded its alliance with NASA, not only by sending new crews to the International Space Station, but also with the Artemis program, which intends to return to the Moon. But this has also been accompanied by controversy, especially by the protests of Blue Origin, the firm of Jeff Bezos. This led to a court filing and a public meeting between Musk himself and the former CEO of Amazon.
However, SpaceX has not been without concerns during 2021 . As it was known, the firm could be at risk of bankruptcy due to the crisis in the production of the Raptor engines for the Starship ship. It is worth noting, despite this, that the company has also continued with other projects, such as the expansion of the Starlink satellite internet initiative.
And as we mentioned earlier, Elon Musk's interests go beyond space conquest and electric mobility. Recently, the businessman indicated that in 2022 they would begin to test the Neuralink chip in humans. His idea is, in the long term, that people who suffered serious spinal cord injuries can walk again .
Clearly, Elon Musk is not immune to controversy. From his survey on Twitter about the sale of Tesla shares, to his opinion on the conflict between Apple and Epic Games, the businessman is not afraid to speak his mind, even if it is worth a slap on the wrist.
With successes and errors, then, his contribution to the world of science and technology is undeniable ; so it is evident that his election as the most outstanding person of the year in TIME magazine has not been wrong.
