Elon Musk attacks film-maker behind documentary about him — SkimNews
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- Elon Musk posted a series of attacks on X against director Alex Gibney, labeling him a "bitter old man" and calling the four-hour documentary — which premiered at the Venice film festival this week — a "hit piece that misses" and a "psy op".
- Alex Gibney, whose prior films covered Enron, WikiLeaks, and Vladimir Putin, said at a Venice press conference that Musk is "extremely dangerous" and offered a psychoanalytic theory linking Musk's behavior to a "very difficult and traumatic" childhood in South Africa.
- Gibney told reporters he encountered a "sense of fear" among people he approached about participating in the film, describing a chilling effect around Musk's influence on public discourse.
- Musk denied ex-partner and former Maga influencer Ashley St Clair's claim that his team offered her $40m to sign an NDA about their relationship, writing "She was never offered that and has a history of making false claims."
- Musk amplified a conspiracy-style image depicting the Democratic party, billionaire George Soros, Gibney, and Hollywood as nested puppets, commenting simply "Accurate" on the repost.
- Katie Miller — wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller and former communications director for Musk's Department of Government Efficiency — publicly attacked the documentary for allegedly excluding Musk's acquaintances and allies.
- Musk bought X for $44bn in 2022, and the article notes his platform interventions have international reach, including UK immigration commentary and celebration of Germany's far-right AfD's strong showing in Saxony-Anhalt state elections this week.
Why it matters: Musk's reach across X — a platform he purchased for $44bn — lets him mobilize his audience against a filmmaker whose prior subjects include Enron and WikiLeaks, while allies with direct White House ties (Katie Miller, wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller) echo his attacks, blurring the line between a billionaire's personal grievance and government-adjacent messaging.
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