A. Gibney, previously creating documentaries about the collapse of Enron, WikiLeaks, and Vladimir Putin, presented his film about Musk this week at the Venice Film Festival. The director stated that he believes one of the richest people in the world is “extremely dangerous.”
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E. Musk responded to the film with several posts on the social network X, which he acquired in 2022 for 44 billion USD. The technology magnate called the documentary a “failed attack,” and its four-hour length was also used by critics – claiming the film is “damn boring.”
“Gibney has no integrity,” wrote E. Musk. According to him, the director simply compiled a list of people who “either have personal grudges or don’t know me at all but still have personal grudges.”
“He is a bitter old man who has long lost his way,” said the billionaire.
In another post, E. Musk stated that “shit deserves more respect than Gibney.”
E. Musk also shared an image depicting the Democratic Party as a puppet controlling another puppet labeled “Team Soros” – a reference to billionaire George Soros, who supports progressive initiatives. This puppet, in turn, controls a puppet named “Alex Gibney,” who controls another labeled “Hollywood.” E. Musk captioned this image: “Accurate.”
When one of his followers wrote that before the premiere of the film about E. Musk, they had never heard of A. Gibney, the billionaire replied: “This is a psychological operation” (psy op) – a term describing a deliberately planned psychological operation aimed at influencing public opinion.
On Thursday, NPR reported that E. Musk’s lawyer also threatened to sue A. Gibney for defamation.
The film caused a stir
The documentary has attracted attention since its premiere in Venice, and discussions are fueled by statements made by some of the people featured in the film.
E. Musk specifically denied the claim by his former partner, former MAGA movement influencer Ashley St Clair, that his team offered her 40 million USD to sign a confidentiality agreement regarding their relationship.
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“She was never offered such an amount, and she also has a history of false claims,” wrote E. Musk.
He also shared a post by podcast host Katie Miller. K. Miller is the wife of Donald Trump’s influential advisor Stephen Miller and previously worked as communications director for the U.S. government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by E. Musk.
Katie Miller criticized the film for allegedly not including enough of E. Musk’s acquaintances and allies.
“The film simply cannot be called the final story if it did not include people who were close,” she said. K. Miller called the documentary a “fictional film” and “a personal attack by a Hollywood director.”
A. Gibney talks about fear
E. Musk has had a significant influence on public discourse in recent years through the social network X and the content highlighted there. He has repeatedly engaged in discussions about immigration in the United Kingdom and also this week praised the result of Germany’s far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Saxony-Anhalt state elections.
Meanwhile, A. Gibney said at a press conference in Venice that he noticed a “sense of fear” among the people he interviewed while making the film.
The director speculated that E. Musk’s current behavior might have been influenced by his childhood experiences in South Africa.
“His childhood was very difficult and traumatic. In a way, he is now reliving that trauma at all of our expense, if I were to interpret the situation psychoanalytically,” said A. Gibney.
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