A new documentary by veteran filmmaker Alex Gibney, unveiled at the Venice Film Festival, offers an extensive examination of Elon Musk’s rise to wealth and influence, profiling the technology entrepreneur’s complex relationship with government, politics, and power. The nearly four-hour film draws on interviews and archival footage spanning Musk’s career, capturing both his engineering achievements and the controversies surrounding his public persona.
The film portrays Musk as a shrewd operator who has not hesitated to leverage government support to advance his ventures. Musk is shown capitalizing on lucrative state contracts for SpaceX satellite launches under the Obama administration, while also benefiting from policies like California’s zero-emission vehicle credits, which reportedly were secured in part through overstated promises, such as a battery-swapping technology for Tesla vehicles that never saw widespread use.
Despite his abrasive public image, the documentary acknowledges Musk’s genuine enthusiasm for engineering and technology. Interviewees, including Musk’s ex-wife Justine, depict a man deeply invested in his work, consciously crafting a technical persona. His early career decisions to reinvest proceeds from software ventures like Zip2 and PayPal into engineering projects rather than pursuing traditional venture capital is highlighted as a distinctive aspect of his approach.
Musk’s personal life also features prominently, including a portrayal of his prolific family growth that now includes at least 14 known children. Sources suggest that more children may exist, some conceived through arrangements with employees. The film links Musk’s drive for procreation to a profound anxiety about societal collapse, a fear rooted in his upbringing in South Africa and compounded by personal and emotional traumas. The documentary further explores the role of Musk’s close aide Jared Birchall, a devout Mormon, in managing family-related legal and financial matters.
On matters of empathy, the film presents Musk as advocating for a critical view of what he terms “suicidal empathy”—overidentification with criminals at the expense of victims—which he sees as a factor in societal decline. However, interviews question Musk’s own capacity for empathy, citing examples such as his treatment of family members and employees.
Political themes emerge strongly, with Musk described as possessing an unusual confidence in Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. One striking moment in the documentary features Musk referencing a plan to “unleash the anomaly in the matrix” and alluding cryptically to “10,000 lasers in space,” comments that remain unexplained in the film.
The documentary also includes commentary from Geoffrey Hinton, a prominent AI researcher known as the "godfather of AI," who has distanced himself from Musk. Hinton voices concerns about Musk's ability to responsibly manage the risks of artificial intelligence and warns about potential election interference. He expresses skepticism over Trump’s intentions to compromise upcoming elections using AI technologies and highlights the misuse of data by Musk’s cryptocurrency venture Dogecoin as an example of tactics that could be employed to influence voters.
Overall, the film presents a multifaceted portrait of Musk, charting his technical ambition alongside a complex interplay of personal fears, political maneuvering, and the broader ethical implications of his ventures in technology and power.