Elon Musk, Time magazine’s new Person of the Year for 2021, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

He’s brash, arrogant, uncompromising, erratic, antagonistic, attention-seeking and sometimes tweets like a reckless maniac.

But then I could also be talking about myself!

Where we differ is that Musk is also, without any doubt, the single greatest entrepreneurial genius on Planet Earth right now, a swashbuckling maverick who’s turned himself into the world’s richest inhabitant through sheer force of visionary, innovative and risk-taking determination.

He hasn’t achieved this by being Mr. Nice Guy.

Musk, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, is indisputably a flawed human being whose managerial style has been described by co-workers as exhibiting a ‘high degree of degenerate behavior’ and a ‘total and complete pathological sociopathy.’

Tesla employees have been reportedly told not to walk past Musk’s desk because of his ‘wild firing rampages’, hard-nosed engineers have apparently been reduced to tearful rubble in his fiery confrontational meetings, and by his own admission, he’s a very impatient and demanding workaholic.

Elon Musk, who has Asperger's Syndrome, is indisputably a flawed human being whose managerial style has been described by co-workers as exhibiting a 'high degree of degenerate behavior' and a 'total and complete pathological sociopathy.'

Elon Musk, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, is indisputably a flawed human being whose managerial style has been described by co-workers as exhibiting a ‘high degree of degenerate behavior’ and a ‘total and complete pathological sociopathy.’ 

He’s no easier to live with at home judging by the scathing account of their marriage posted by one of his two ex-wives, Justine.

But then, truly transformative people are rarely warm, cuddly individuals.

Describing him as a ‘clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, showman,’ Time praised him as a ‘man-god’ who ‘dreams of Mars as he bestrides Earth, square-jawed and indomitable.’

The magazine’s editors added: “Musk is easily cast as a hubristic supervillain, lumped in with the tech bros and space playboys, for whom money is scorekeeping and rockets are the ultimate toy. He is actually ‘different’: He’s a manufacturing magnate—moving metal, not bytes. His rockets… reinvigorated America’s space dreams and are launching satellites to expand Internet access across the globe… The man from the future where technology makes all things possible is a throwback to our glorious industrial past, before America stagnated and stopped producing anything but rules, restrictions, limits, obstacles, and Facebook.”

Time emphasized that its annual acknowledgement was not an award, but rather, ‘recognition of the person who had the most influence on the events of the year, for good or for ill.’

I mistakenly assumed that Musk’s recognition would be parked into the ‘good’ category.

After all, this is a guy who’s spent the past 25 years trying to save the planet through sustainable cars, solar power, and ringing alarm bells about climate change and Artificial Intelligence, and who’s almost single-handedly restored the dream of space exploration including the stunning idea of colonizing Mars to help with Earth’s massive over-population crisis.

Yes, Musk can be weird, intemperate, rude and unpredictable.

Yes, his tweeting can be indefensibly irresponsible – whether it’s ramping up (or down) crypto-currencies, constantly downplaying the threat from Covid-19 and spreading disinformation about the virus, shamefully calling people who criticize him ‘pedos’, or live-tweeting as he is emptying his bowels.

I mistakenly assumed that Musk's recognition would be parked into the 'good' category. He almost single-handedly restored the dream of space exploration including the stunning idea of colonizing Mars to help with Earth's massive over-population crisis. (Above: The Inspiration4 all-civilian crew on board the Crew Dragon module. SpaceX launched several historic flights this year including the first-ever all-civilian space crew)

I mistakenly assumed that Musk’s recognition would be parked into the ‘good’ category. He almost single-handedly restored the dream of space exploration including the stunning idea of colonizing Mars to help with Earth’s massive over-population crisis. (Above: The Inspiration4 all-civilian crew on board the Crew Dragon module. SpaceX launched several historic flights this year including the first-ever all-civilian space crew)

And yes, he should pay more tax. 

It’s outrageous that in 2018, he paid zero individual federal taxes, and paid an average rate of just 3.7% between 2014-18 – even though it was perfectly legal given that he takes no salaries, and his fortune is mostly held in assets and stock. And, as he points out by way of self-defense, he generates huge tax income for the treasury through the 110,000 people he employs.

But I prefer to look at public figures in totality, believing them all to be imperfect, and the totality of Elon Musk’s achievements surely outweighs the bad stuff?

Apparently, not.

In fact, judging by the outraged liberal reaction to his Time POTY announcement, the woke brigade believe he is even less deserving than previous holders of the title like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.

‘The selection of Musk this year may be the worst ever,’ snarled liberal writer Kurt Eichenwald.

‘Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else,’ raged Senator Elizabeth Warren.

‘The guy could really use an ego boost, you know?’ scoffed late night host Trevor Noah. ‘And honestly, you can’t argue with this: I mean, richest man in the world, who also controls space, crypto, and electric cars? Who would even be second place? Like, maybe Pete Davidson?’

‘It’s important to note this is not necessarily a compliment,’ Jimmy Kimmel mocked. ‘Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump were also named person of the year.’

‘Literally almost anyone else would have made a better Person of the Year than Elon Musk,’ seethed left-wing ‘Brooklyn Dad Defiant’ blogger Majid Padellan.

And self-styled Democratic strategist Aaron Parnas even suggested Dolly Parton should have won it instead.

Space X is now NASA's official supplier for the International Space Station (Above: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft launches from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in September 2021)

Tesla is heading towards being the world's biggest company (Above: electric car at a Tesla charging station)

Musk has ploughed his money and brains into a series of businesses that collectively mean he has done more to save us from ourselves than any of his fellow Earth-mates. (Left) The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, carrying non-professional astronauts, launches from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in September 2021. (Right) Tesla, which makes sustainable electric cars, is heading towards being the world’s biggest company

Really?

No offense to Dolly, but I’d put saving the planet marginally ahead of crooning Jolene.

And frankly, why all the hate against Musk?

This guy surely is the living, breathing personification of the American dream?

Aged just 10, he was reading two books a day and became obsessed with computer and video games. He acquired a computer, and at 12, sold the code of a video game he created called Blastar to a tech magazine for $500.

Due to his Asperger’s, he was a loner as a kid and was physically and verbally bullied throughout childhood, even hospitalized for a week after one particularly savage beating.

He’s also hinted at suffering some unknown form of abuse at the hands of his father from whom he is now estranged and describes as ‘evil.’

So, Musk left home in South Africa on his own with nothing and came to the United States via Canada. A very bright student, he dropped out of Stanford after two days to launch – with his brother – an internet start-up ‘Zip2’ which developed and marketed an Internet city guide for the newspaper publishing industry including the New York Times and was sold for $307 million.

Why all the hate against Musk? This guy surely is the living, breathing personification of the American dream? (Pictured: Musk, age 24, at his computer in 1995)

Why all the hate against Musk? This guy surely is the living, breathing personification of the American dream? (Pictured: Musk, age 24, at his computer in 1995)

Then he founded the hugely successful online banking firm ‘X.com’ online banking company, which later merged with PayPal and ended up making him another $150 million.

Since then, Musk has ploughed his money and brains into a series of businesses that collectively mean he has done more to save us from ourselves than any of his fellow Earth-mates: Neuralink, that integrates the human brain with Artificial Intelligence and which he describes as a ‘Fitbit in your skull’ and claims could soon cure paralysis, deafness, blindness, and other disabilities; Tesla, which makes sustainable electric cars and is heading towards being the world’s biggest company; SolarCity, now the second largest, and cheapest, provider of solar power systems in the US; and Space X, which is now NASA’s official supplier for the International Space Station and is building rockets and spacecraft far cheaper than anyone else.

None of this has come easily, and his personal life has been as up-and-down as his professional one.

Aside from his divorces and estrangement from his dad, Musk nearly died from malaria in 2000, and he lost his first child, a son named Nevada Alexander, to sudden infant death syndrome at just 10 weeks old.

So, this is a very complex man who’s been through a lot in his life that might explain some of his less than edifying behavior.

But I would argue he has his heart in the right place.

Musk wants our planet, and the 7.9 billion people on it, to survive.

He doesn’t want us to be wiped out by climate change, or asteroids, or self-designing Artificial Intelligence robots.

In its citation, Time said: ‘This is the man who aspires to save our planet and get us a new one to inhabit.’

And Musk said by way of response: ‘The goal overall has been to make life multi-planetary and enable humanity to become a spacefaring civilization.’

I can’t think of a more important goal than this, or a man who, for all his faults, is more uniquely qualified to try to achieve it.

That’s why I’m delighted Time chose Elon Musk as their Person of the Year.

We need more people like him in the world, and less whiny woke wastrels currently throwing their toys out of their strollers because their bogeyman is finally getting the recognition that he deserves.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk