Elon Musk criticises documentary as Universal considers release

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 12 Oct, 16:19 · Archive

Director Alex Gibney's four-hour documentary about Elon Musk faces opposition from its subject, who has insulted the filmmaker and threatened legal action.

Alex Gibney's four-hour documentary about Elon Musk premiered at the Venice Film Festival last month and has since drawn sustained criticism from its subject. Musk has posted repeatedly on X, calling filmmaker Gibney an 'idiot', a 'horrible human', a 'shill for the far left' and other derogatory terms. He has also threatened legal action. Gibney told the New York Times that Universal, which holds international distribution rights acquired in 2023, 'wavered' over releasing the film outside North America. Variety suggested Universal had been concerned about legal threats from Musk, though the studio said it had 'always been enthusiastic about releasing the film internationally'. Gibney responded: 'You can walk and chew gum at the same time.' He added that he and Universal had recently met and were 'talking very concretely about a release plan'.

Gibney's producer Jessie Deeter, who knew Musk from previous films, attempted several times to get Musk to be interviewed for the documentary. Musk's response was to post 'Gibney is a douche' on X. Musk has reportedly not yet seen the film. The documentary is also facing practical obstacles to promotion: YouTube, Meta, TikTok and X initially refused to carry paid advertisements for the film, though YouTube and Meta have since reversed course, citing the content being flagged as 'political'. Gibney has expressed concern about whether the film will reach HBO as originally planned, given that Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros Discovery created a new entertainment company whose co-founder Larry Ellison is friendly with Musk.

How it is being reported

• Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ has already gotten under Elon Musk’s skin. It goes nationwide this weekElon Musk has been vocal against Alex Gibney's documentary “Musk,” calling the filmmaker names like “idiot” and “horrible human.”Independent World · 12 Oct, 16:00
• Alex Gibney says Universal ‘wavered’ over releasing Elon Musk documentaryThe revelation comes after the four-hour film’s Venice premiere drew a string of criticisms and insults from the founder of SpaceXAI Alex Gibney, director of the new four-hour documentary about Elon Musk, said that Universal, owners of the film’s international distribution rights “wavered” over releasing the film outside North America. Gibney was speaking to the New York Times as the film opened in the US (where it is being released by the independent distributor Bleecker Street), and appeared to confirm a story in the Hollywood Reporter that Universal, which had acquired the international…Guardian World · 12 Oct, 15:38

In this story: Alex Gibney · Elon Musk · Universal · Bleecker Street · Venice Film Festival

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