New Alex Gibney Four-Hour Documentary Critiques Elon Musk, Calling Him a 'Man Who Has Lost His Mind'

Alex Gibney's nearly four-hour documentary Musk premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, 8 September, putting Elon Musk's power, public image and increasingly divisive reputation under a harsh spotlight. Its new trailer calls the tech billionaire 'a man who has lost his mind,' while presenting him as 'Earth's most unchecked man.'

The news came after Musk had already dismissed the film as 'a hit piece' on X, despite not taking part in its production. Gibney replied directly to the billionaire's criticism, writing: 'How would you know?'

Alex Gibney Turns His Lens on Elon Musk

The trailer offers a compact version of the argument Gibney appears to make across the film's lengthy running time. A SpaceX rocket lifts off as voices praise Musk as 'possibly the greatest living inventor' and 'the real-life Iron Man.'

Then the mood curdles. The same rocket loses control as commentators describe Musk as 'chaotic, random, capricious' and 'manifestly cruel and selfish.' The stark contrast sets up the documentary's critical approach to Musk.

The teaser ends as the vehicle crashes and explodes, with another voice calling Musk 'a man who has lost his mind'. It also includes the phrases 'fascist' and 'Elon is a nuke', although the trailer does not identify every speaker or provide the fuller context for those remarks.

Musk has its world premiere out of competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival before travelling to the Toronto International Film Festival. Bleecker Street is scheduled to release the documentary in US cinemas on 16 October.

Musk did not contribute an interview. That absence is material because the film is positioning itself as an examination of a man whose companies and political influence now reach far beyond the familiar world of Silicon Valley.

Alex Gibney Examines Power Beyond Technology

The Toronto International Film Festival's synopsis describes the documentary as 'an incisive look behind the legend' of Musk, whom it calls the world's most heralded 'inventor-entrepreneur.' The festival argues that his influence touches people across the planet through businesses including Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink and X.

Gibney has been working on the project since at least early 2023, according to reporting at the time of the film's announcement. The director has spoken about wanting to examine Musk's influence and said he initially admired him before his research changed his view.

The line-up includes technology journalist Kara Swisher, philosopher Sam Harris and Justine Musk, the entrepreneur's first wife. Other reported contributors include Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard, journalist Zoë Schiffer and computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton. The Venice Film Festival lists Justine Musk, Ashley St. Clair, Kara Swisher, Martin Eberhard, Zoë Schiffer and Geoffrey Hinton among the film's main cast.

That range matters. Musk has long attracted polarised reactions, from admirers who credit him with pushing electric vehicles and commercial spaceflight into the mainstream to critics who question his business claims, political interventions and use of social media. The trailer leans hard into that split, though its critical direction is clear.

Gibney is not new to ambitious examinations of powerful figures and institutions. His earlier work includes Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Taxi to the Dark Side and The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, centred on Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.

The director has suggested the scale of Musk's influence demanded an equally expansive film.

Speaking about the documentary's length, Gibney joked that people had asked whether Musk had made the project about himself, adding that it probably did not have much in common with a recent documentary centred on First Lady Melania Trump.

That quip points to the unavoidable question beneath the film. How much power can one individual accumulate before scrutiny becomes overdue?

For now, the trailer makes clear where Gibney's film is heading. Its rocket rises, spins and falls. Then it explodes.