It was December 2021. The world was still shaking off the weirdness of the pandemic, and suddenly, there he was. The Time magazine cover with Elon Musk hit the stands, and it felt like everyone on the internet collectively lost their minds for a week. Some people cheered. Others cancelled their subscriptions.
Honestly, it’s one of those cultural moments that hasn't aged quietly.
When Time picks a "Person of the Year," they aren't necessarily giving out a gold star for being a "good" person. They’ve picked Hitler. They’ve picked Stalin. They’ve also picked the Pope and "The Protester." The criteria is basically "influence," for better or worse. But with Musk, the 2021 selection felt different because it captured a very specific, chaotic transition in how we view billionaires.
The Aesthetic of the Time Magazine Cover with Elon Musk
The photo itself was... polarizing. You've probably seen it. Musk is sporting that sharp, slightly awkward undercut hairstyle. He’s looking off into the distance. Not smiling. Not exactly frowning. Just looking.
The lighting is harsh. It’s a tight crop. It doesn’t look like a corporate headshot from a Fortune 500 brochure. It looks like a guy who just spent thirty-six hours straight in a gigafactory and might be about to tweet something that moves a market by ten percent.
Time described him as a "clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, showman." That’s a lot of hats for one guy to wear. But that's the thing about the Time magazine cover with Elon Musk—it wasn't just about his bank account. At that point, Tesla was basically the poster child for the EV revolution, and SpaceX was landing rockets vertically like it was a sci-fi movie come to life.
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Why 2021 Was the Peak Musk Moment
You have to remember the context of that year to get why this cover happened. Tesla had just hit a trillion-dollar valuation. Think about that number for a second. It's an absurd amount of money. SpaceX had launched the first all-civilian crew to orbit. This wasn't just "rich guy does well." This was "guy fundamentally changes how we get to space and how we drive."
But there was the other side. The side that made the selection controversial.
While the magazine was being printed, people were arguing about his taxes. They were arguing about labor practices in the factories. They were arguing about his influence on crypto. Remember Dogecoin? That was the year Musk went on Saturday Night Live and the "Doge" price cratered while he was on screen. It was a fever dream.
Time Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal basically said that the choice was about "influence." He noted that few individuals have more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth, too.
The Backlash Was Loud
The internet didn't hold back. Senator Elizabeth Warren used the cover reveal to tweet about the tax code. Critics pointed out that while Musk was being celebrated, many people were still struggling with the economic fallout of the previous two years.
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It’s interesting. Most Time covers get a day or two of chatter. This one? People are still bringing it up four or five years later. It became a Rorschach test. If you liked Musk, you saw a visionary being recognized. If you didn't, you saw a glorification of "tech-bro" culture at its most extreme.
Looking Back From 2026: Did the Cover Age Well?
Since that 2021 cover, everything changed. Musk bought Twitter (now X). His public persona shifted from "the rocket guy" to a much more politically charged figure.
If you look at the Time magazine cover with Elon Musk today, it feels like a time capsule of a more optimistic—or at least a less polarized—era of his public life. Back then, the conversation was mostly about Mars and batteries. Now, it’s about free speech, algorithms, and geopolitical influence.
Is he still influential? Obviously.
Is he more controversial than he was in 2021? Absolutely.
The Power of the "Person of the Year" Brand
Time has this weird knack for picking the person who is the loudest voice in the room. In 2021, Musk was shouting from every rooftop. He was the wealthiest person on the planet. He was sending Starlink satellites to provide internet in conflict zones. He was selling flamethrowers.
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The magazine didn't shy away from the messiness. The actual cover story, written by Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, and Alejandro de la Garza, was surprisingly nuanced. It talked about his "autocratic" tendencies and his "brutal" work ethic. It wasn't a puff piece, even if the cover photo felt like one to his detractors.
The Technical Side of Being a Visionary
Let’s get real for a minute. You can’t talk about that cover without talking about the actual tech that got him there.
SpaceX’s Starship was in its early testing phases. Tesla’s "Full Self-Driving" was the biggest hype-machine in tech. Even if you think he's a "clown," the engineering feats happening under his umbrella were—and are—legitimately groundbreaking. The cover was a recognition that the private sector had officially overtaken government agencies in the "cool" factor of space exploration.
How to View This Cover Today
If you're looking for a takeaway, it’s this: Time doesn't pick heroes. They pick movers.
The Time magazine cover with Elon Musk is a reminder that history isn't always made by polite people. It’s often made by people who are difficult, obsessive, and extremely loud. Whether that’s a good thing for the world is something people will be debating long after the next "Person of the Year" is announced.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
- Research the "Why": Don't just look at the photo. Read the original 2021 Time profile. It provides a much clearer picture of the editorial intent than a social media snippet.
- Understand the Criteria: Remember that "Person of the Year" is a measure of impact, not a moral endorsement. This helps frame why controversial figures often make the cut.
- Track the Evolution: Compare the 2021 coverage to how major outlets report on Musk today. The shift in tone tells you more about the current state of media than it does about the man himself.
- Look Beyond the Individual: Use the Musk cover as a jumping-off point to look at the other 2021 finalists—like the vaccine scientists. It gives you a better "big picture" of what the world valued at that specific moment in time.
The reality of the Time magazine cover with Elon Musk is that it did exactly what it was supposed to do. It made everyone stop and talk. It documented a moment when the world was obsessed with a single person's vision for the future, for better or worse.