Elon Musk’s selection as the 2021 TIME Person of the Year drew a sharp reaction from progressives online Monday.

“Musk has spent a lifetime defying the haters; now, it seems, he’s finally in position to put them in their place. For 2021 was the year of Elon Unbound,” TIME wrote in its profile of Musk, the world’s richest man with a net worth of more than $250 billion.

The Tesla CEO and founder of SpaceX, the aerospace company that has been a pioneer in the private space industry, has long been an outspoken and controversial figure.