It was late 2021 when that iconic red border framed a face that practically half the internet loved to hate and the other half worshipped. Elon Musk staring back from the newsstand. His hair was slightly askew, his expression was... well, let’s call it "Musk-ian." It wasn't just a photo. It was a statement. When the Time Magazine cover Elon Musk edition hit the shelves as the Person of the Year, it felt like the world collectively took a sharp breath.
Some cheered. Others threw their magazines across the room.
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Honestly, the choice was never about being "liked." Time’s editors have been beating this drum for decades: the title goes to the person who had the most influence on the news, for better or for worse. Think about it. 2021 was the year of the $1 trillion Tesla valuation. It was the year SpaceX sent the first all-civilian crew into orbit. It was also the year Musk was live-tweeting from his "porcelain throne" while moving the crypto markets with a single doge emoji.
The 2021 "Person of the Year" Choice Explained
Why him? Why then? Edward Felsenthal, Time’s editor-in-chief at the time, didn't mince words. He called Musk a "clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, showman, cad." That is a lot of labels for one person to carry. Felsenthal’s core argument was that few individuals have had more influence on life on Earth—and potentially life off Earth—than Musk.
It wasn’t just about the money, though being the richest person in history (on paper) certainly helped the narrative. It was about the shift from government-led ambition to individual-led disruption.
- SpaceX was literally lapping NASA and Boeing.
- Tesla was dragging the entire legacy auto industry, kicking and screaming, into the electric age.
- Neuralink was promising to merge our brains with AI.
The magazine noted that Musk represents a "massive shift in our society." We moved away from trusting big institutions and started looking at "tech titans" to solve existential crises like climate change or multi-planetary survival. Whether that's a good thing is still up for a very heated debate at most dinner tables.
The Cover That Miffed a Million Critics
You can't talk about the Time Magazine cover Elon Musk without talking about the backlash. It was swift. It was loud.
Senator Elizabeth Warren famously used the cover to pivot back to her favorite topic: taxes. She tweeted that the selection highlighted the need to reform the tax code so the "Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else." Musk, never one to back down, fired back by calling her "Senator Karen." It was high-stakes political theater played out in 280 characters.
Critics were also annoyed because 2021 was the year of the vaccine. Many felt the "Heroes of the Year"—the scientists who developed the mRNA technology—deserved the main cover. Time did recognize them in a separate category, but the "Big One" went to the guy building rockets in South Texas.
Fast Forward: The 2025 "President Musk" Cover
If you thought 2021 was controversial, the 2025 covers took things to a whole new level of "is this real life?"
By February 2025, the narrative had shifted from Musk the industrialist to Musk the political architect. Time released a cover featuring Musk sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. The headline? "Inside Elon Musk's War on Washington." This wasn't saying he was President, but it was a heavy-handed metaphor for his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration.
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This cover featured a story detailing how Musk was "deputized to dismantle vast swaths of the federal bureaucracy." We are talking about a private citizen with security clearances and the power to influence federal spending. It drew immediate comparisons to the 2017 cover of Steve Bannon, titled "The Second Most Powerful Man in the World."
Trump himself wasn't exactly thrilled. He reportedly questioned if Time was "still in business."
The "Architects of AI" Era
By late 2025, the Time Magazine cover Elon Musk saga evolved again. He appeared in the "Architects of AI" group cover. This one was a play on the famous "Lunch atop a Skyscraper" photo from 1932.
There he was, sitting on a steel beam alongside Sam Altman of OpenAI, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, and Lisa Su of AMD. It signaled a new chapter. Musk wasn't just the "car and rocket guy" anymore; he was a gatekeeper of the intelligence that might eventually run our world.
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Why These Covers Actually Matter
We live in a digital age, so you might think a paper magazine cover is a relic. It's not. These covers act as a cultural timestamp. They capture the specific moment when a person's influence becomes so large it can no longer be ignored by the "old guard" media.
- Validation of Disruptive Power: When Time puts a guy who tweets memes on the cover, they are admitting that the old rules of "prestige" are dead.
- The "For Better or Worse" Clause: Being on the cover isn't an endorsement. It’s a recognition of power. Time has put Hitler and Stalin on the cover. They’ve also put the Computer and "You" (the internet user).
- The Shift in Governance: The 2025 covers specifically highlight how the line between private wealth and public policy has basically vanished.
What You Should Take Away
If you're tracking Musk's trajectory through these covers, you're really tracking the history of the 2020s. We’ve seen the transition from "eccentric billionaire" to "industrial titan" to "government reformer."
What’s the move for you? Don't just look at the photo. Read the nuance. The 2021 "Person of the Year" article is a masterclass in "yes, but" journalism. It acknowledges his brilliance while documenting his "petulant" behavior and his "shattering" of traditional norms.
To stay ahead of how this influence affects your world, keep an eye on:
- The DOGE reports: See how Musk's "War on Washington" actually changes federal services you use.
- The AI landscape: Watch xAI (his company) and how it competes with the other "Architects of AI" featured on the 2025 covers.
- Tesla’s pivot: With Musk’s focus on politics and AI, see if the "car company" can maintain its lead without his undivided attention.
The Time Magazine cover Elon Musk archive isn't just a collection of pictures. It’s a map of where we’ve been and a messy, complicated hint at where we’re going.