Cover boy!

Elon snags Time’s “Person of the Year” after revitalizing two big industries

good 4 u… Olivia Rodrigo, Elon Musk, Simone Biles, and vaccine scientists were honored in Time’s “Person of the Year” issue. Elon was coverboy, aka the Person of the Year. The title is less of an award, more of an acknowledgement of influence. Past POYs include Donald Trump (2016), Pope Francis (2013), Mark Zuckerberg (2010), and The Computer (1982). Back to Elon…

• The EV and space pioneer became the world’s richest person this year, and gained mass cultural influence through his eccentric tweets — from crypto memes to live-tweeted bathroom breaks.
• As Time put it: “Musk is our avatar of infinite possibility, our usher to the remade world… where Earth and humanity can still be saved.”

Happy and healthy… finally. Tesla is worth nearly $1T, and SpaceX is leading America’s spacefaring efforts, but Elon’s companies weren’t always successful: In 2008, Tesla stood on the verge of collapse, and Elon went broke using personal funds to keep it going. That same year, a string of bombshell failures for SpaceX resulted in headlines like this. A few years ago, Tesla was close to bankruptcy again. Today:

• Tesla controls two-thirds of the EV market, and could help reduce global warming if the company delivers on its pledges. The EVs that Tesla popularized have forced OG carmakers to invest billions in electric.
• SpaceX became the first private company to send humans to space last year. This year, it won a $2.9B contract to develop a NASA lunar lander — and its valuation topped $100B. Now it’s working on a next-gen rocket for Mars missions.
• Not all good 4 u: Elon has faced (and is facing) a number of challenges, from federal probes into Tesla’s Autopilot software to regulatory fines for the infamous $420 tweet.

THE TAKEAWAY

Musk revitalized two key industries… electric vehicles and space exploration. Last year, SpaceX launched astronauts into orbit from US soil for the first time in a decade, breathing new life into America’s dusty space dreams. EVs are trending hard now, but traditional automakers thwarted their development for decades. Love or hate him, Musk revived industries that were dwindling in the US, turning them into private-sector successes and hubs of investment.

Contributor: Robinhood