Musk (film)
2026 documentary film by Alex Gibney
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Musk is a 2026 documentary film directed by Alex Gibney. It follows the billionaire businessman Elon Musk, and his enormous influence in right-wing contemporary politics.
- Alex Gibney
- Michael J. Palmer
- Jessie Deeter
- Alex Gibney
- Dana O'Keefe
- Joey Marra
- Zhang Xin[1]
- Nick Shumaker
- Jessica Grimshaw
- Ronan Farrow
- Erin Edeiken
- Lawrence Wright
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Alex Gibney |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Benjamin Bloodwell |
| Edited by | Michael J. Palmer |
| Music by | Daniel Pemberton |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 235 minutes |
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| Language | English |
The film had its world premiere out of competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2026.[2] It is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States by Bleecker Street on October 9.
Synopsis
The documentary is reported to be a "definitive and unvarnished examination" of businessman Elon Musk.[3][4][5]
Listed as appearing in the film are ex-wife Justine Musk, child custody rival Ashley St. Clair, journalists Kara Swisher and Zoë Schiffer, and engineers Martin Eberhard and Geoffrey Hinton.[2]
Production
Alex Gibney revealed in March 2023 that he had started work on the documentary and was "many months" into the production. Joining Gibney in producing the documentary are Jessie Deeter for Jigsaw Productions, Dana O'Keefe for Double Agent, Joey Marra and Zhang Xin for Closer Media, with Anonymous Content's Nick Shumaker and Jessica Grimshaw.[6][7]
Elon Musk responded to the report of the documentary in production by using his Twitter account to express that it would probably be "a hit-piece".[8] Gibney responded by asking "how would you know?" via his Twitter account.[9]
David Byrne wrote and performed the song "Let Me Sell You a Dream", co-written with the documentary's composer Daniel Pemberton, for the documentary. The song contains quotes from Musk, which Byrne described as, "All his own words. No editorializing. Straight from the man's mouth to mine".[10]
Release
In May 2023, HBO Documentary Films acquired North American television and streaming rights to the film, with Black Bear International, whose joint venture with New Regency called Double Agent co-produced the film, acquiring international sales rights, planning to sell the documentary at the Marché du Film.[11] In October 2023, Universal Pictures Content Group acquired international distribution rights from Black Bear.[12]
In August 2025, Bleecker Street acquired U.S. distribution rights to the documentary; the deal excludes television and streaming rights, which were pre-bought by HBO.[13] It is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on October 9, 2026, by Bleecker Street.[14] It was previously scheduled to be released on October 16.[10]
Reception
The film received positive reviews on the debut at the Venice Film Festival. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10.[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]
Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman reviewed it positively and said, "A lacerating and important watch, grounded in Alex Gibney’s supremely insightful but user-friendly mastery of the documentary form... The film says that what should scare us about him is how he coddles his own interests by passing them off as the world's."[17]
Musk himself described the film as "a hit piece that misses" and claimed that "It's a psy op".[18] NPR reported that one of Musk's lawyers threatened to sue Gibney for defamation over a claim about lasers in the film.[19]
