Documentary Review: ‘Musk’

by | Oct 14, 2026 | Movie Reviews, Movies | 0 comments


Greetings again from the darkness. A four-hour documentary would be overkill for most individuals, but when the subject is Elon Musk, the run time seems fitting, if not a bit short. This profile was put together by Oscar winner Alex Gibney, one of the best documentarians working today. His previous work includes ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS iN THE ROOM (2005); TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (2007); STEVE JOBS: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE (2015); the first Elizabeth Holmes doc, THE INVENTOR: OUT FOR BLOOD IN SILICON VALLEY (2019), and this year’s KNIFE: THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF SALMAN RUSHDIE.

With Musk refusing to meet with Gibney, the solution is to create an AI image of Elon (a man who questions if we are living in a simulation) and have it recur throughout the film, vocalizing the man’s own words. Gibney and team compiled a database of all public statements made by Musk over the years, and this combined with his actions and insight from journalists, baby mamas, his parents, and others who have crossed paths provide the often stunning material presented. Regardless of your impression of Elon Musk … entrepreneur, inventor, visionary, something more dastardly … you will surely find some new information in Gibney’s remarkable documentary.
Gibney questions why we allowed Musk to take on so much power and have such influence. He then provides the background that includes his companies: Zip2 (transitioning the phone book to the internet), Paypal (from which he was removed), Tesla, SpaceX, StarLink, Twitter/X, and XAI/Grok. Details are provided on how he profited from the sale of his first business, how he was removed from power at Paypal, and thanks to Martin Eberhart (the actual founder of Tesla), we learn how Musk manipulated facts to present himself as the company’s founder. Some of the most gut-wrenching sights occur as Tesla’s AutoPilot is covered. What we learn is really quite despicable – the ad spouting AutoPilot features was fake … the programming was occurring in the backseat of the car as it was self-driving. Everyone would call that false advertising, while most would call it fraud. Sadly, multiple deaths occurred due to the system’s faults.

Musk has fathered more than a dozen children via multiple women (the exact numbers of either are uncertain), and we hear from three of these women. Justin Musk has written a book entitled, “The Starter Wife”, and she comes clean about their relationship and their kids. Pop singer Grimes speaks to her uneasiness at clips showing their son X on Musk’s shoulders at the White House. Influencer and fellow baby mama Ashley St Clair also spills some tea – and speaks to her willingness to turn down millions from him to keep quiet. None of this shines a positive light on Musk, yet it helps us understand why he seems focused on building his own legacy of kids. A discussion of the ‘woke mind virus’ leads directly to his trans daughter Jenny.

The first half of the film is scary, but the second half is downright ‘run for the hills (or another planet)’ harrowing. Elon’s true motives become clear. Between the Tesla cameras, the work on DOGE, and StarLink, Musk understands the value of building a database unlike anything previously built, while at the same time gutting the agencies that might regulate or control his companies. He’s able to combine government data (where he and his team had full access) with public and private domains to put him in control of more information than anyone has ever possessed. This is where his power and influence gains strength.

Gibney shows us how the cult of Elon supports a misogynist and egomaniac. To his credit, Musk has learned to deal with failures by continuing to move forward, regardless of the cost. Tech reporter Kara Swisher and other journalists offer specific insight to what they’ve observed over the years, and how he used the “Twitter playbook” when running DOGE. However, perhaps the most chilling interviews come from Elon’s own father in South Africa and former United States Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, who details exactly how costly and tragic the cuts to USAID were to children who depended on the aid.

If Gibney underplays any aspect, it’s Musk’s involvement in politics. He mentions the hundreds of millions in donations, and touches on the ‘dark money’ contributions through 501(c)(4), but an entire documentary could be created for how this influences elections. The film’s best line is: “Trump had the power to keep Musk in money, and Musk had the money to keep Trump in power.” As a country, that’s where we are. Is Elon Musk a genius or is he insane? Arguments can be made for both. This is a man who once said ‘with AI we are summoning the demon’, yet now his own XAI, Grok, is fully intertwined with the United States military. There are no guard rails in place. We often watch great horror movies like PSYCHO and THE SHINING for escapism. But the real horror is what’s happening right now in real life, and we can now include this documentary from Alex Gibney to the list.
Opening in theaters on October 16, 2026

David Ferguson
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