Overview
- The documentary received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday and runs about four hours with a 10‑minute intermission.
- Alex Gibney assembled the film without Musk’s participation, using archival material, interviews and an AI/CG avatar built from Musk’s public statements to represent him on screen.
- Gibney argues Musk’s shift toward right‑wing leaders and his brief role overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reflect pragmatic efforts to secure federal money and political influence.
- The film presents witness accounts about Musk’s personal conduct, including Ashley St. Clair’s claim that she was offered roughly $40 million not to speak, and highlights expert concern—most notably Geoffrey Hinton’s—about DOGE-era access to government data and the theoretical risk of using that data with AI to influence elections; those claims are reported in the film but not independently verified.
- Following a strong festival reception, Bleecker Street will release the film in U.S. theaters on October 16 and HBO will air a longer version in 2027, with the documentary expected to shape public debate over regulation, corporate power and tech platforms.