Twitter Reacts To Elon Musk Being Named Time's 2021 Person Of The Year: 'Fraud'

Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest man, has been named Time's 2021 Person of the Year, and social media users have mixed opinions about it.

The magazine made the announcement Monday, with Time editor-in-chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal explaining in an editor's letter: "...few individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too."

The title is given to an individual, or individuals, who "most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year, for better or for worse," according to former managing editor Walter Isaacson.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO follows President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020 and teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg in 2019. Previous titleholders also included Adolf Hitler (1938) and Joseph Stalin (1939 and 1942).

Musk being named Person of the Year has drawn mixed reactions on Twitter. While his fans celebrated the cover, critics of the billionaire pointed out Musk's social media behavior and his and his companies' various controversies.

"The richest person in the world, who, rather than using their $270,000,000,000 to solve pressing real-world problems, simply…doesn’t. What an outstanding example to us all," Dr. Josh Fergeus, a councilor in Australia, tweeted.

Author and journalist Elie Mystal wrote, "Other than the racial discrimination lawsuits, sexual harassment lawsuits and [National Labor Relations Board] investigations, how was the play, Mrs. @TIME?"

"Time Magazine got this one right. We live in depraved, acquisitive, intellectually bankrupt times and nobody embodies our wretched zeitgeist quite like this bloated sociopath. Literally the hero we deserve," E.W. Niedermeyer tweeted.

The official Twitter account of "The Daily Show" quipped: "Good to see Time recognize a person, unlike Tesla's Autopilot cameras."

One Twitter user edited Musk's Time magazine cover to read "Fraud of the Year" instead of "Person of the Year," writing, "Fixed that for you. You're welcome."

Other users, however, said that Musk was a great choice.

"You guys rarely make even remotely good choices for Person of the Year… but this year you picked the only right answer! Elon Musk and Dogecoin to the MOOOOOOOON!!!" wrote Matt Wallace, a YouTuber who posts mainly about cryptocurrency.

"I’m so glad he is Person of the Year! He deserves it for the things he is doing for the world and the innovations and trends he is establishing. This really made my morning," a second user commented.

"No complaints from me! Congrats Elon Musk, and keep building great things for the wellness of humanity," another added.

"A great choice Time. Someone who is making positive change in this world," a fourth user wrote.

"So happy for him. He deserves every iota of this victory. So much learned and risk-taker, who not only revolutionized the way we live but also the way we think. Kudos to him, his family and his staff members. So much to learn from him for everyone," another wrote.

Musk was previously sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for fraud in 2018 for allegedly issuing "false and misleading" statements and failing to properly notify regulators of material company events, CNBC reported, citing court documents. In August that year, Musk tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private, adding, "Funding secured."

Eventually, Musk and Tesla agreed to settle the charges against them without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations. The settlement included Musk stepping down as Tesla's chairman and having the company appoint additional independent directors. Musk and Tesla also agreed to pay $20 million each in penalties.

In October, Tesla was also ordered by a court to pay nearly $137 million to Black former worker Owen Diaz, who said he was subjected to racial harassment and a hostile work environment at the electric carmaker's factory in San Francisco Bay Area, California.