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Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour Musk documentary gets first trailer
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
A trailer has been released for Alex Gibney’s forthcoming documentary Musk, a nearly four-hour examination of Elon Musk’s business activities, political influence and public controversies. Its critical approach is signalled by Gibney’s previous films on subjects including Enron, Scientology and Elizabeth Holmes.
The film includes a ten-minute intermission and is scheduled for selected cinemas on 9 October, followed by a wider release on 16 October. It will address Musk’s involvement with the DOGE agency and the MAGA movement, Tesla self-driving incidents, alleged technological over-promising and unsubstantiated claims concerning Starlink and the 2024 US election; Musk has threatened to sue Gibney for defamation and criticised him publicly.
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In short
- Alex Gibney’s Musk documentary runs for nearly four hours.
- The film examines Musk’s business and political controversies.
- Musk has threatened legal action and attacked the director.
How this story developed
- 2 months ago Set for selective release on 9 October, the documentary will examine Musk's leadership of DOGE, involvement in MAGA politics, Tesla's autonomous driving claims and unsubstantiated allegations that Starlink was exploited to influence the 2024 election.
- 2 months ago The film has achieved a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes, prompting Musk to launch personal attacks on Gibney via X, describing him as "a bitter old man," "a horrible human" and claiming he possesses "zero integrity."
- 2 months ago Filmmaker Alex Gibney has released a trailer for his four-hour documentary Musk, positioned as a substantive critique of the entrepreneur rather than a promotional portrait.
Full account
Veteran documentarian Alex Gibney, recognised for his Oscar-winning work exploring contentious figures and institutions, has completed a sprawling biographical portrait of Elon Musk. The film, simply titled Musk, represents an ambitious undertaking at nearly four hours in duration—complete with a ten-minute intermission mid-screening. Gibney has built a substantial career since the 1980s examining polarising subjects: his breakthrough came with Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, followed by the Academy Award for Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. His filmography extends to investigations of financial irregularities, political intrigue, and corporate malfeasance, suggesting that this latest project will not constitute an uncritical examination of its subject.
The documentary purports to examine Musk's most contentious decisions and claims with considerable depth. Among the film's focal points are his direction of the DOGE governmental initiative, his increasingly prominent role within political conservatism, recurring difficulties with Tesla's autonomous driving technology resulting in driver fatalities, and assertions regarding his telecommunications satellite network's alleged involvement in the 2024 presidential election. The production also interrogates a pattern of technological promises that have reportedly outpaced realisation. The film notably incorporates statements from former partner Ashley St. Clair, former spouse Justine Musk, prominent technology commentators, and engineers who have worked on Musk's ventures. Musician David Byrne has contributed an original composition that samples Musk's own public statements.
The picture debuted at the Venice International Film Festival approximately two weeks prior to the official trailer's release. Initial speculation suggested that Universal Pictures might be reconsidering its commitment to international theatrical distribution, though these concerns appear to have subsided; the studio has announced a release schedule for international markets in the first quarter of 2027, coinciding with the film's planned streaming debut on HBO. Domestically, Bleecker Street Media is overseeing theatrical distribution. A particularly notable creative choice was Gibney's employment of artificial intelligence to generate a representation of Musk delivering verbatim excerpts from his public record, following the subject's refusal to participate in a traditional interview.
Musk has responded to the project with considerable hostility, denouncing it as both a personal attack and psychological manipulation, whilst simultaneously threatening legal action against Gibney for defamation. His public statements on social media have included severe personal attacks, characterising the filmmaker as dishonest and morally compromised. Notwithstanding these objections, the film has received favourable critical assessment prior to its release. The documentary arrives in selected United States cinemas on 9 October, with wider distribution anticipated subsequently.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
Source 1 emphasises Musk's inflammatory reaction and specific insults directed at Gibney, whilst Source 2 contextualises these within Gibney's broader career and the production's creative methodology
Source 1 provides greater detail regarding the election-rigging conspiracy claims, including the purported text message reference to 'an anomaly in the matrix'; Source 2 does not mention this specific allegation
Source 2 offers substantially more comprehensive coverage of Gibney's career spanning four decades and multiple award wins; Source 1 provides only a selection of his prior works
Source 2 identifies specific interview subjects and contributors (including Justine Musk, Kara Swisher, Zoe Schiffer, Martin Eberhard, Geoffrey Hinton, and David Byrne); Source 1 names only Ashley St. Clair
Source 2 is the sole source to discuss the AI recreation of Musk using his verbatim public statements, and Musk's refusal to participate
Source 1 references a Rotten Tomatoes score; Source 2 describes general critical reception more broadly
Source 2 reports distribution plans for HBO streaming in Q1 2027 and addresses earlier concerns about international theatrical distribution; Source 1 does not mention these details
Source 1 specifies a two-phase domestic release (9 October limited, 16 October wider); Source 2 mentions only the 9 October date
Explained simply
Elon Musk is a businessman whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. He has also become a prominent political figure in the United States, supporting Donald Trump and taking part in the “Make America Great Again” movement.
The film examines Musk’s business record, public statements and political influence, including his involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. It also looks at questions surrounding Tesla’s self-driving technology and claims linked to Starlink, a satellite internet service operated by SpaceX.
Alex Gibney is a documentary-maker known for films that investigate powerful people and institutions. Musk has criticised the project and threatened legal action, making the film part of a wider dispute over how his conduct and influence are portrayed.
Coverage · 2 sources
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Originally published by Engadget as “We finally have a trailer for that four-hour Elon Musk documentary”.