Alex Gibney Unveils Musk Doc At Venice Film Festival — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Alex Gibney said at the Venice Film Festival that he encountered "a tremendous sense of fear" while researching the documentary, with critics, business colleagues and friends all declining to speak.
- Gibney framed Musk's story as "old wine in a new bottle," comparing him to the confidence men of Enron and Elizabeth Holmes and arguing his wealth and power come from inflated stock.
- Ashley St. Clair, Musk's ex-partner and mother of one of his children, revealed she was offered a $40M NDA after their relationship ended but chose to participate to set an example for her kids.
- Zoë Schiffer, author of "Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk's Twitter," said willing sources were easier to find lower in Musk's organizations, where loyalty is thin — particularly at Twitter and USDS after his takeovers.
- The documentary's trailer features soundbites describing Musk as "chaotic," "capricious," "manifestly cruel," "a nuke," and "a fascist."
- Gibney said the film documents Musk's involvement with right-wing parties in Germany, the UK, Brazil and Turkey, arguing he pursues a global right-wing agenda for both ideological and practical/monetary reasons.
Why it matters: Gibney's film positions Musk not just as a tech CEO but as a global political actor backing right-wing parties in Germany, the UK, Brazil and Turkey. With Ashley St. Clair publicly rejecting a $40M NDA to speak, the documentary arrives as Musk's own X posts are celebrating AfD's Saxony-Anhalt election win — giving the 'lacerating portrait' an explicitly political backdrop.
Ask SkimNews
