Elon Musk has launched a vehement critique of filmmaker Alex Gibney following the premiere of a four-hour documentary about Musk’s life and influence at the Venice Film Festival. Musk described Gibney as a “bitter old man” with “zero integrity,” dismissing the film as a “hit piece that misses” and labeling it “boring af” due to its length and critical tone.

Gibney, known for his previous documentaries on subjects such as Enron, WikiLeaks, and Vladimir Putin, characterized Musk as “extremely dangerous” during remarks at the festival. The documentary delves into various aspects of Musk’s public and private life, generating controversy since its unveiling.

Musk responded to the film primarily via posts on X, the social media platform he acquired in 2022 for $44 billion. Beyond criticizing Gibney, Musk shared an image suggesting a conspiracy involving the Democratic Party, billionaire George Soros, and Gibney himself, implying the documentary was part of a broader political agenda. Musk described the project as a psychological operation intended to manipulate public perception.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also rejected allegations made by his former partner, Ashley St Clair, a former Maga influencer who appeared in the film. St Clair claimed that Musk’s team offered her $40 million to sign a nondisclosure agreement about their relationship, a claim Musk denied, saying she had a history of making false assertions.

Adding to the debate, Katie Miller, a podcaster and former communications director at Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, criticized the documentary for lacking participation from Musk’s acquaintances and allies. Miller called it a “fictional movie” and a “hit job by a self-obsessed Hollywood director,” arguing that the absence of close associates undermined the film’s comprehensiveness.

At the Venice press conference, Gibney addressed the palpable “sense of fear” among those he approached during the film’s production. He speculated that Musk’s turbulent childhood in South Africa might contribute to his current behavior, suggesting that Musk is, in some ways, projecting past trauma onto the public.

Musk’s extensive influence on public discourse, particularly through X, has had international repercussions. He has intervened in immigration debates in the United Kingdom and recently endorsed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party following state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. These activities underscore the complexity of Musk’s public persona, which the documentary seeks to explore amid sharply contrasting views from the subject himself and the filmmaker.