Gibney's 4-Hour 'Musk' Wins 4-Minute Ovation at Venice as Film Targets Tesla, Trump Ties
Updated
Updated · Variety · Sep 8
Gibney's 4-Hour 'Musk' Wins 4-Minute Ovation at Venice as Film Targets Tesla, Trump Ties
3 articles · Updated · Variety · Sep 8
Summary
A four-minute standing ovation greeted Alex Gibney’s 225-minute documentary at Venice, where the film framed Elon Musk as a modern “confidence man” and drew strong audience applause despite its length.
The documentary argues Musk’s real talent is stock-pumping rather than inventing, challenges his founder mythology at Tesla, and says Tesla’s AutoPilot has been linked to more than 60 deaths.
Ashley St. Clair, who attended the premiere, says in the film she rejected a $40 million NDA after giving birth to Musk’s 13th child, while Justine Musk recounts family trauma and estrangement from Musk’s trans daughter Vivian.
Gibney also traces Musk’s rightward political shift, arguing his 2024 backing of Donald Trump was tied to federal-contract dependence and legal scrutiny, while interviewees raise concerns about data access through DOGE.
Bleecker Street will release “Musk” in U.S. theaters on Oct. 16 before an HBO Max streaming debut, extending scrutiny of a film Musk has already dismissed as a “hit piece.”