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Elon Musk Documentary Premieres at Venice Film Festival

1:17 PM ETConfirmed

Entertainment Desk

In Short: The four-hour documentary "Musk" premiered at the Venice Film Festival, offering a critical look at the world's richest man.

The four-hour documentary "Musk," directed by Alex Gibney, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, offering a critical look at Elon Musk, the world's richest man.

Musk, who did not participate in the documentary, called it a "hit piece" on social media, while Gibney responded, "How would you know?"

The film, which runs for 225 minutes with a 10-minute intermission, covers Musk's life from his South African upbringing to his ventures in electric vehicles, space exploration, and social media.

Gibney's documentary highlights Musk's controversial claims, such as his belief that we might be living in a simulation and his promise of imminent Mars colonization.

"Musk" also delves into Musk's involvement with Twitter and his alleged false claims, such as using Starlink satellites to beam in votes for former President Donald Trump.

"Musk" will be released in theaters by Bleecker Street on October 16, with a trailer that Rolling Stone described as a "nonfiction horror movie".

The documentary has garnered mixed reactions, with some critics feeling a sense of despair after watching it.

Musk has been targeting his ire at Gibney, even considering legal action over the documentary's portrayal.

"Musk" is set to make its premiere at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and will hit theaters in October.

The film's trailer, which runs for 49 seconds, calls Musk both the "greatest" and a "fascist," highlighting the polarizing nature of the tech mogul.

"Musk" offers a thorough and unvarnished examination of the controversial figure, tracing his journey from CEO of Tesla and SpaceX to his current status as a global influencer.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• Musk will be released in theaters by Bleecker Street on October 16.

What's still developing

• "That's not happening," says Adam Becker, an author and astrophysicist, about Musk's scheme to colonise Mars.
• Musk has consistently defended his visionary philosophy however: "I'm very good at predicting the future," he told The Economist in a July interview.
• The title is appropriate, according to some of Gibney's interviewees, who say that Musk tends to attract investment by promising that imagined future accomplishments – such as cities on Mars and completely safe self-driving cars – are imminent or already realised.
• This is apt, says Gibney in his voiceover, because Musk believes that we might all be living in a simulation – a video game being played by our descendants in the future.
• Here are five things you should know about the documentary – just in case you don't have four hours to spare.
• The film, simply titled “Musk,” is a four hour examination of the centibillionaire’s life, from his upbringing in South Africa to his start during the dot-com boom to his foray into politics.
• Musk, attempting to clarify, added in a follow up message that he has “over 10 thousand lasers in space.” ( NPR reported that it obtained and authenticated the texts in question.) Spiro argues that this amounts to defamation, because it promotes a debunked conspiracy theory that Musk used his Starlink satellites to beam in votes for Trump.
• “A short recap of his handiwork: Tesla popularized electric vehicles; Starlink expanded the reach of the internet; Twitter bowed to his takeover; and DOGE radically transformed the US government,” it continues.
• Clair shed light on what makes the father of 14 tick in Alex Gibney's documentary Musk, in theaters Oct.
• “She was never offered that and has a history of making false claims,” Musk wrote.
• New 'Musk' documentary paints unflinching portrait of the world's richest man A new documentary is taking a hard look at Elon Musk's rise and influence.
• That should all give documentarian Alex Gibney plenty of material to work with in his upcoming film “Musk,” which is premiering at the Venice International Film Festival and will go on to screen in Toronto.

Sources

• BBClink
• Futurismlink
• Peoplelink
• eonline.comlink
• Deadlinelink
• Thenewslink
• Rolling Stonelink
• NPRlink
• Comingsoonlink
• IndieWirelink
• The Hollywood Reporterlink
• Avclublink
• Mediaitelink
• WarpBeat — background on Elon Musk Renames SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI Following Trump Directive link
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