Documentary "Musk" Examines Tesla, AI and Elon Musk's Personal Life

Alex Gibney's documentary "Musk," which debuted at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 8, offers a four-hour investigative portrait of Elon Musk, covering his rise from a Silicon Valley entrepreneur to a key figure in politics, technology and personal affairs. The film, directed by the Oscar-winning filmmaker known for "Going Clear" and "The Inventor," does not include a direct interview with Musk, but uses an AI-generated avatar based on his past interviews to comment on topics such as simulation theory and Mars colonisation.

The documentary highlights several controversies. It revisits Tesla's Autopilot system, contrasting a 2016 promotional video that suggested full self-driving capability with dash-cam footage from a 2019 fatal crash in Key Largo, Florida. A jury previously found Tesla partially liable for that incident, awarding $243 million in damages, a verdict the company is appealing.

The film also features remarks from AI researcher Geoffrey Hinton, who warns that Musk could exploit personal data obtained through his involvement with the cryptocurrency DOGE to influence upcoming midterm elections. Hinton states, "If you wanted to corrupt the midterm elections and you wanted to use AI, all you needed to do was get detailed information on US citizens."

In the personal-life segment, the documentary includes testimony from influencer Ashley St. Clair, who says Musk encouraged her to have more children and offered a $15 million upfront payment plus $100 000 per month for 21 years in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement, which she declined. St. Clair describes Musk's outreach to multiple women for procreation as a "Gatling gun of sperm" in her messages.

Musk has not provided a comment to the outlet that screened the film. When a former communications director for DOGE dismissed the documentary as fictional, Musk responded with a single word: "Exactly." "Musk" is scheduled for theatrical release on Oct. 16.