A new documentary about Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been attracting quite a bit of film festival buzz, and things are getting a lot buzzier now that Musk has threatened legal action. Hey, didn’t that guy ever hear about the Streisand Effect? That’s when a famous person tries to shield themselves from the prying eyes of the public, only to have the effort boomerang in a fresh cascade of attention… Elon Musk Reacts To The Movie The documentary in question is titled simply, “Musk.” Musk-watchers have been eagerly awaiting its release for the past three years, ever since the Oscar- and Emmy-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney — widely known for his work on the Enron collapse, among other topics — attached his name to the project. They were not disappointed. Musk premiered at the high profile Venice Film Festival earlier this month to a slew of enthusiastic reviews and a standing ovation of 4 minutes, or 5 minutes according to some sources. Musk, who declined to be interviewed for the film, was not amused. In fact, he has not been amused for the past three years. As reported by Variety, Musk called the film a “hit piece” back in 2023, before the cameras even began to roll. Rather than let a sleeping dog lie, Musk fed the publicity mill anew after the Venice screening, taking to his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on September 9 to vent his spleen, with including the widely cited and particularly pithy remark, “Dogshit is worth more respect than Gibney.” Musk also wrote: “It’s a hit piece that misses, and makes the fatal sin of being boring for 4 hours.” “Gibney just assembled a hit list of people who either have an axe to grind or don’t even know me (but still have an axe to grind),” Musk added separately. “He has ZERO integrity. Horrible human.” The September 9 messages were in response to an X poster who excoriated the film. For the record, here’s the post that prompted Musk to nod in agreement, under the handle of self-described Tesla investor sa_futurist: This movie that just came out should be called a hit piece tabloid movie and not be called a documentary when everyone on the interviews hates Elon for really bad reasons. It’s how low the film industry has gotten and to say it is an actual documentary is disrespectful to the word and also the evil people who funded it. Elon has done more for humanity than anyone in recent history. A documentary on how Elon Musk saved Free Speech globally would be a great place to start from. Sure, sa_futurist, you do you. Meanwhile, Gibney already has the “doing more for humanity” angle covered. “Musk, I think like some of the characters that I’ve followed in the past, is afflicted with what some people call noble-cause corruption,” Gibney told Associated Press on September 9, explaining that a future-forward vision enables some visionaries to excuse their own missteps, of which there can be many. “In a way, Musk is not dissimilar from the guys at Enron. He’s not dissimilar from Elizabeth Holmes in the way that he bent the truth to serve his impulses,” Gibney added, referring respectively to the Enron bankruptcy of 2001 and the more recent Theranos debacle. Spoiler alert: “His genius is stock pumping,” Gibney told AP. Right Back At You, Elon Musk Regardless of Elon Musk’s outpourings on social media, the tempest would have crawled back into its teapot except for Elon Musk himself, who sicc’d his legal team on Gibney’s production company. At issue is a portion of the film that touches on Musk’s ability — or not — to manipulate the results of the 2024 election through “lasers in space,” referring to his Starlink satellite network. The interview features the mother of one of Musk’s children, former MAGA influencer Ashley St. Clair. “In a letter sent to Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, the company behind the film, Musk attorney Alex Spiro homes in on an exchange between Gibney and Ashley St. Clair,” NPR reported on September 10. In the letter to Jigsaw, Spiro describes multiple sources debunking the Starlink rumor. He also emphasizes that “lasers in space” means nothing more than Starlink’s inter-satellite links. “You are therefore on notice, before release, that the insinuation is false, that the material refuting it is public, and that you chose not to be told the rest,” Spiro concludes. How now, brown cow? Jigsaw promptly fired back in a statement cited by NPR, explaining that the First Amendment protects its “right to engage in open debate and fact-based examinations of powerful public figures,” which futhermore is “something that should be recognized and defended by all Americans, including the associates of Elon Musk, who has proclaimed himself to be a ‘free speech absolutist.'” Walking Away From Elon: The Movie (Or Not) The publicity fire was stoked even further last week, when multiple tech and entertainment news organizations indicated that the film’s worldwide distributor, Universal Pictures, has gotten cold feet on account of political pressure. “Universal Pictures, which controls worldwide rights to the film outside of North America, now appears to be having second thoughts,” Hollywood Reporter noted on September 16, adding, “The company has not dated the movie, has not communicated with the filmmaking team about its plans, and generally appears to be rethinking the release. As for what gave Universal the heebie-jeebies, perhaps it was the letter from Elon Musk’s legal team to Jigsaw. Or, as noted by The New York Times among other news organizations, Trump avoidance syndrome may be at work. “Media companies have been accused of making concessions to avoid antagonizing the Trump administration,” The Times noted on September 17, citing the example of CBS News among others. Or not, as the case may be. According to The Times, the film’s North American distributor, Bleecker Street, holds the domestic rights and announced its plans back in July. Bleecker is sticking to the plan. “Musk” will screen in New York and Los Angeles on October 9, stoking the flames of demand for a wider theatrical run beginning on October 16. Universal is also still on board with overseas distribution, at least according to un-named sources cited by Variety on September 17. As explained anonymously, the delayed release date is fairly common for a long-form documentary. Of course, even if Universal delays the release past the upcoming US elections, the impact on the results will be minimal at best. Bleecker is the one to watch for US distribution, and Elon Musk himself has already taken it upon himself to keep the media beacon burning. Considering Musk’s high profile, high dollar role in the 2024 elections leading up to his chainsaw-wielding stint as head of Trump’s “DOGE” budget cutting office, and his followup activities during this year’s mid-term election cycle, the October 16 wide release of “Musk” the movie is perfectly timed for another burst of publicity at the start of the early voting period. In many US states, voters can cast their ballot by mail, by drop-box, or in person during early voting, which typically begins 2-3 weeks before Election Day, scheduled for Tuesday, November 3 this year. For actionable details about this year’s elections, voters can contact their local elections office through a reputable online portal such as Vote.gov, enabling them to check on their registration status, register to vote, and assess their early voting options. Whatever you do, don’t use “votesafe.org.” That particular website bills itself as a non-partisan voter information portal, though it is reportedly more in the nature of a data collection operation funded by Elon Musk’s America PAC. Image: A veritable bonfire of anticipation is building around the new Elon Musk documentary “Musk,” with a generous assist from none other than the King of Publicity, Musk himself (courtesy of Jigsaw productions via imdb).
