New Musk Documentary Draws Its Sharpest Material From His Own Lieutenants

A new documentary about Elon Musk gets some of its most damaging material from people who work for him, according to NBC News. The film, titled "Musk," opens Friday in Los Angeles and New York and includes video and audio that appear to be newly public.

Musk did not take part in the project. He has dismissed it on X as a "hit piece," and said director Alex Gibney has "zero integrity." NBC News reported that Musk, Tesla, SpaceX and the two aides featured in the film did not respond to requests for comment.

What the film shows from inside Musk's circle

NBC News said one clip is a videotaped deposition of Ashok Elluswamy, a high-ranking Tesla engineer. In it, he acknowledges that a 2016 promotional video about Tesla's self-driving abilities, which he helped produce, did not accurately represent the company's technology at the time. Reuters reported on the transcript of that deposition in 2023.

The film also uses audio of Jared Birchall, who handles Musk's personal matters. He is heard in a phone call with online influencer Ashley St. Clair, made shortly after she gave birth to a child she and Musk conceived, taking a hard line on child support. The Wall Street Journal reported on that call last year. NBC News noted that the video and audio themselves appear to be newly public.

A nearly four-hour tour of Musk's career

Gibney says in the film that his team spent more than three years researching Musk, assembling archival interviews, hard-to-find footage and a database of Musk's own quotes. The film covers the growth of SpaceX and Tesla, Musk's 14 known children, and his on-again, off-again alliance with President Donald Trump, including being the biggest donor to Trump's 2024 campaign.

It also revisits his "Saturday Night Live" hosting stint in 2021, his purchase of Twitter, his Grok chatbot's adoption of the identity "MechaHitler," and his use of a chain saw early in Trump's second term. Archival footage shows him courting politicians years before endorsing Trump, according to NBC News, including receiving benefits such as low-emission credits for Tesla.

The film also examines a 2019 Florida crash in which a Tesla on "Autopilot" ran a stop sign and killed a pedestrian. NBC News said a jury found Tesla 33% at fault and ordered it to pay $243 million in damages.

On Musk's push last year to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, former USAID administrator Samantha Power says in the film that the cuts froze some food programs and blames them for 14 million potential deaths. NBC News noted that figure comes from a projection published last year of possible deaths over the following five years.

Claims presented without support

NBC News said some parts of the film are offered without evidence or explanation. It cited Gibney's promotion of a theory that Musk used Starlink satellites to interfere in the 2024 election, an idea NBC News described as unfounded.

Why it matters

For readers, the film is a widely accessible account of a figure who runs Tesla and SpaceX and has had significant influence in Washington. NBC News said Musk remains deeply divisive, with a majority of Americans holding unfavorable views of him, even as Trump honored him at the White House on Thursday.

The release also comes amid speculation that Democrats could investigate Musk if they win control of Congress in the midterm elections. NBC News described the film as arriving at a potentially pivotal moment for him.

At a Wednesday screening at the Mill Valley Film Festival in California, producer Jessie Deeter joked about the film's length, which includes a 10-minute intermission. NBC News said the biggest applause came when a former career federal employee explained quitting the Trump administration last year rather than cooperate with Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Source: NBC News