--- title: "Elon Musk Seems Legitimately Shaken Over This New Documentary" description: "Documentarian Alex Gibney had a very rich source of material to draw from for his upcoming documentary titled \"Musk.\"" date: "2026-09-08" modified: "2026-09-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor.md" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/elon-musk-seems-legitimately-shaken-over-this-new-documentary" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" --- # Elon Musk Seems Legitimately Shaken Over This New Documentary ![Elon Musk arrives to court at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building on April 30, 2026 in Oakland, California.]() *Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images* It's no secret that Elon Musk is hiding plenty of skeletons in his closet. The mercurial billionaire has made an extensive list of enemies through his [offensive commentary](), led the [gutting of humanitarian aid](), [exploited workers at his companies](), and [meddled with the democratic process]() — all the while alienating investors with his chronic [overpromising]() and [underdelivering](). Simply put, documentarian and investigative journalist Alex Gibney had a very rich source of material to draw from for his upcoming documentary "Musk," which had its world premiere today at the ongoing Venice Film Festival. According to journalist David Sirota, Musk is "freaking out" about the film because Gibney "doesn't pull punches, doesn't cower and won't be bullied." "And so the bully is mad," Sirota [tweeted](). By all accounts, the four-hour epic will be a doozy. The documentarian "crafted a movie that, while not new in its specifics, is often damning in its totality, standing apart from anything the media entertainment complex has recently turned out — a portrait of power with the cinematic scope of 'All the King’s Men' and the potential social impact of 'The Pentagon Papers,'" the [*Hollywood Reporter* gushed](). Musk has reportedly gone to extreme — and sometimes unsuccessful — lengths to silence those involved in Gibney's latest work. Musk's ex and former conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair, who is "prominently featured" in the documentary, told reporters at the Venice Film Festival that she was "offered the opportunity not to speak for $40 million," as [quoted by *People*](). "When you're offered something like that \[to stay quiet\], it really causes a debate in your head about what your speech means and how valuable that is and why do they want to offer me this amount of money to not speak?" St. Clair said. St. Clair is one of four women who have had a total of 14 children with Musk, at least that we know about so far. The 26-year-old had a major falling out with the entrepreneur, going as far as to [allege that the billionaire "financially retaliated" against her]() for filing a custody petition by reducing child support payments. We're likely to hear more commentary from Musk about the film. Last week, Musk [tweeted]() that Gibney was "obviously going to make the most convincingly terrible hit piece on me that he can possibly think of," calling him a "douchebag to his core." But considering the staggering amount of material Musk has gifted the world, Gibney had plenty of material to work with. **More on Musk:** [*Elon Musk Is Insisting He Knows More About Chess Than Chess.com*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()