Veteran documentarian Alex Gibney’s new film exploring the life and influence of the world’s richest man premiered at the 83rd Venice Film Festival. Clocking in at just under four hours, the feature-length project titled Musk
examines the tech billionaire’s business practices, political activities, and personal life, arriving as one of the most anticipated and discussed projects at the event.
Alex Gibney’s Four-Hour Documentary Musk
Premieres at Venice Film Festival
The Oscar-winning director has previously investigated institutions such as the US military, the Catholic church, Vladimir Putin, and Scientology. Gibney began investigating the tech tycoon’s ascent and speaking with individuals in his orbit starting in late 2022. Though Elon Musk did not participate in the project, he appears throughout the film via an artificial intelligence avatar. Following its festival debut, Bleecker Street will release the film in theaters nationwide on October 16.
Revelations From Former Partners and Insiders
The documentary features interviews with a wide array of sources connected to the entrepreneur. Among them is his first wife, Justine Musk, who shared details about their marriage, including their January 2000 wedding where she recalled him telling her, I am the alpha in this relationship.
Justine also spoke about the 2002 death of their firstborn son, Nevada, disputing a previous claim made online by Elon regarding who was holding the infant at the time of his passing.
Another prominent figure featured in the project is Ashley St. Clair, the mother of his thirteenth child. St. Clair appeared alongside Gibney at a press conference in Venice, where she revealed that she turned down a $40 million non-disclosure agreement and a monthly stipend of $100,000 to speak freely about her experiences. Additional interview subjects in the film include Errol Musk, Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard, computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, and commentators Kara Swisher and Sam Harris.
Critiques of Government Ties and Business Practices
Gibney’s documentary explores how the entrepreneur amassed his vast wealth and political influence, pointing to government assistance and contracts. The film revisits a June 2013 Tesla press event where a battery swap system was unveiled for the Model S, noting that interviewees stated the technology was barely utilized at its demonstration site, while helping secure ZEV credits from California.
The film also touches on political developments, with St. Clair describing the entrepreneur’s high degree of certainty surrounding the outcome of the November 2024 presidential election before the results were finalized.
The Subject’s Response and Public Reaction
Elon Musk has been sharply critical of the project. Writing on X, the social media platform he owns, he denounced the film as a hit piece
and called it boring for 4 hours.
In other posts, he wrote that Gibney just assembled a hit list of people who either have an axe to grind or don’t even know me,
while characterizing the filmmaker as lacking integrity.
Despite the criticism, the project has drawn substantial attention across the global film circuit. In addition to its Venice debut, the documentary is scheduled to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival.
