By Ken Shepherd | May 21, 2015 | 7:06 PM EDT

Imagine, if you will, that a conservative Republican legislator in Texas who played a role in preventing direct-to-consumer sales of Tesla electric automobiles in the Lone Star State was on the record telling the media that he blamed "Mr. Tesla" for failing to do his part to make nice with the powerful car dealership lobby in Texas. But alas, it was a Democratic state legislator, Rep. Senfronia Thompson, who made the relevant remarks. 

By Ken Shepherd | November 21, 2013 | 4:15 PM EST

What do you call the CEO of a company that has grossly overvalued stock, a new government probe into its signature product's spotty safety record, and, most importantly whose very financial existence would be questionable at best were it not for government handouts?

If you're Fortune magazine, you call him Businessperson of the Year, and that would be Tesla Motor Company CEO Elon Musk. Here's their justification for the award, announced today: