Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney has never been one to shy away from controversy. His latest feature, Musk , has stirred up plenty even before its release, drawing the ire of its subject, Elon Musk, and threats of a defamation lawsuit.
What happened
After the film debuted two weeks ago at the Venice International Film Festival, rumors swirled that Universal Pictures was getting cold feet about theatrically releasing the film in international markets.
Where the sources line up
Those rumors appear to be unfounded (at least for now). And Musk is still on track for a US theatrical release, thanks to the folks at domestic distributor Bleecker Street Media, which released the official trailer today.
Practical impact for readers
Gibney has been making documentaries since the 1980s, covering such varied subjects as Jimi Hendrix, Hunter S. Thompson and gonzo journalism, WikiLeaks, Scientology, Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Holmes (the subject of another forthcoming documentary, You Can See Everything , featuring comedian Nathan Fielder), Boris Becker, The Sopranos creator David Chase , alleged Russian interference in the US 2016 presidential election, the opioid epidemic, and cyclist Lance Armstrong. He snagged his first Oscar nomination for 2005’s Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room , and won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature two years later for Taxi to the Dark Side .
Who should pay attention now
While Musk has attacked the film as a “hit piece” and a “psy op,” it’s been critically well-received thus far, despite a daunting run time of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Per Gibney, Musk declined to be interviewed for the film, so the director created an AI version of Musk uttering verbatim public quotes as a stand-in for a real interview. That, too, is likely to draw some controversy.
What is still unclear
The trailer includes a few well-known incidents: Tesla and the fatalities linked to its driver-assistance systems, SpaceX, his purchase of Twitter, DOGE, and his 14 (possibly more) children, among others. Those interviewed include ex-wife Justine Musk, tech journalists Kara Swisher and Zoe Schiffer, engineers Martin Eberhard and Geoffrey Hinton, and former MAGA influencer Ashley St. Clair, who also bore a child by Musk. I spotted Cory Doctorow and physicist Adam Becker in the trailer. David Byrne co-wrote and performs an original song, “Let Me Sell You a Dream,” incorporating more of Musk’s words.
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