Elon Musk Faces Brutal Alex Gibney Documentary as ‘Musk’ Takes Aim at Tesla, DOGE and His Personal Life

Alex Gibney’s new documentary “Musk” is shaping up as one of the most confrontational portraits yet of Elon Musk, taking aim at the billionaire’s business empire, political influence, relationships and ambitions for the future.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker premiered the documentary at the Venice Film Festival on September 8, presenting a sprawling 225-minute examination of the man behind Tesla, SpaceX, X and his increasingly controversial role in American politics.

Rather than offering a conventional billionaire success story, Alex Gibney constructs a deeply critical portrait of Elon Musk. The documentary combines interviews, archival footage and an AI-generated Musk avatar to revisit some of the most controversial chapters of his career.

An AI Musk Speaks for the Real Musk

One of the film’s most striking techniques is its use of a digital Musk avatar.

Because Elon Musk did not participate in an interview for the documentary, Alex Gibney’s team created an AI-generated representation trained using the billionaire’s existing public interviews.

The avatar appears throughout the film, effectively allowing Musk’s past statements to become part of the documentary’s interrogation of his worldview.

The technique is particularly pointed because Musk himself has attacked the project since it was announced.

Elon Musk previously described the documentary as a “hit piece.” After the Venice premiere, he again attacked Gibney, accusing the filmmaker of assembling people with grievances against him and questioning his integrity.

Alex Gibney, meanwhile, has defended the project as an investigative examination of one of the most influential figures in modern technology and politics.

Tesla’s Autopilot Comes Under Fire Again

One of the documentary’s most damaging sections focuses on Tesla’s Autopilot technology and the company’s claims about autonomous driving.

Gibney contrasts Tesla promotional material suggesting highly advanced self-driving capabilities with footage from a fatal 2019 crash in Florida involving a Tesla operating with Autopilot engaged.

The crash killed 22-year-old Naibel Benevides Leon and seriously injured another person.

The film also revisits legal proceedings surrounding the crash, including a jury decision that found Tesla partially liable and awarded $243 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Tesla has appealed that verdict.

The documentary uses the episode to question whether Tesla’s public messaging about driver-assistance technology has kept pace with its real-world capabilities.

For a company whose identity is closely tied to technological disruption, the renewed scrutiny could prove particularly uncomfortable.

The DOGE Chapter Gets Even Darker

Alex Gibney also turns his attention to Elon Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

The documentary features technology journalists discussing Musk’s access to government systems and personal information while overseeing DOGE.

One of the film’s most provocative voices is AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, who worries Musk could use access to detailed information about Americans to influence future elections.

Geoffrey Hinton’s comments represent his assessment rather than established evidence of an election scheme. The documentary nevertheless uses them to raise a much larger question about the concentration of technology, wealth, political influence and personal data in the hands of one individual.

Ashley St. Clair Makes Explosive Personal Claims

Elon Musk’s private life receives equally intense treatment.

Conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair, who has said Elon Musk is the father of her child, appears prominently in the documentary. She describes their relationship and claims she was offered a financial arrangement involving an NDA after their relationship ended.

St. Clair says she rejected the proposed arrangement and instead spoke publicly about her experience.

She also claims Elon Musk wants to have many children and describes conversations she says she had with him.

Musk has disputed her account, saying on X that the NDA terms St. Clair described were not offered to her and accusing her of making false claims.

The documentary does not resolve every dispute; instead, it places competing accounts at the center of its portrait of Musk.

The Biggest Question: Who Controls Musk’s Power?

“Musk” ultimately goes beyond Tesla, SpaceX, or DOGE.

Alex Gibney’s central concern appears to be the extraordinary concentration of wealth, technology, political influence, and personal data around one person.

The film portrays Musk as a figure who has moved from Silicon Valley entrepreneur to one of the most powerful individuals in global technology and politics.

At nearly four hours, “Musk” is anything but a lightweight celebrity documentary. It aggressively examines a billionaire who has repeatedly transformed entire industries and whose influence now extends far beyond business.

The documentary opens in US theaters on October 16.