Elon Musk Documentary: 5 Key Things to Know | BBC Review

Alex Gibney Uses AI Avatars and Insider Testimony in Musk

Because Elon Musk refused to participate in the project—dismissing the director as a douchebag on his social network X, according to Yahoo News UK—Alex Gibney innovated by employing an AI-generated version of Musk to read out past public statements, as reported by Variety. The four-hour runtime, which Variety noted kept audiences enraptured before concluding with shouts of appreciation, features a roster of high-profile figures who know the subject well. Interviewees include his first wife, Justine Musk; his father, Errol Musk; AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton; Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard; and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. The documentary was embraced on the Lido with a standing ovation, though Bleecker Street CEO Kent Sanderson told Variety that the film is explosive in the way it was constructed.

Inventor Versus Investor: The Stock-Pumping Allegations

A primary thesis of the documentary is that the world’s richest man is fundamentally an investor and stock-pumper rather than an inventor, according to Variety. The film argues that his public statements have driven major valuation boosts for companies like Tesla and SpaceX that often run counter to hard facts. Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard sits for an interview in the project, stating that the billionaire has an ego problem and lamenting that most people incorrectly assume Musk built the car company entirely on his own. Eberhard added that if he could travel back in time, he would not have surrendered so much corporate power.

Controversial Revelations Surrounding Personal Life and NDAs

The film delves into personal dynamics, featuring candid reflections from Justine Musk, who broke down in tears discussing the death of their first child. According to Yahoo News UK, she shared that while dancing at their wedding, Musk whispered into her ear, I am the alpha in this relationship, and claimed that partners were referred to as breeders. The documentary also features Ashley St. Clair, an influencer who gave birth to Musk’s 13th child last year. St. Clair appeared at the Venice press conference alongside Gibney, explaining that after she refused a deal offered by fixer Jared Birchall involving $15 million upfront and $100,000 a month for 21 years, as detailed by Yahoo News UK—she chose to speak out for the film. I hope the risk that I’m taking now in speaking out and trying to fight back at least helps a little bit, St. Clair stated at the festival, according to Variety.

From Left-Leaning Entrepreneur to Political Provocateur

Gibney’s film tracks a distinct ideological shift in its subject, locating the turning point during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Covid is when some switch flipped in his mind, former friend and philosopher Sam Harris stated in the film, according to Yahoo News UK. The documentary also touches on Musk’s reaction to his eldest child transitioning to female—which Musk attributed to the woke mind virus—as well as a perceived snub by then-President Joe Biden at a White House electric vehicle event. Regarding drug use, the project relies on prior reporting from The Wall Street Journal regarding ketamine and LSD, adding that Musk personally called WSJ owner Rupert Murdoch to request the story be blocked, though to no avail.

The Department of Government Efficiency and Mars as Plan B

The final stretch of the documentary targets Musk’s involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Donald Trump, whom Musk spent $300 million helping elect in 2024, per Yahoo News UK. The film links DOGE to thousands of potential deaths resulting from cuts to foreign aid and alleges that the data access was used to shut down investigations into Musk’s own enterprises. Finally, Gibney addresses artificial intelligence, concluding that Musk has shifted focus to Mars as a lucrative contingency plan—a cosmic escape hatch for the wealthy if AI safety fails.