Entertainmentupdated 1h ago2 min read
Alex Gibney’s Musk Documentary Features Justine Musk, Kara Swisher, Martin Eberhard, Geoffrey Hinton, Ashley St. Clair
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Alex Gibney’s Musk is a lengthy investigative portrait challenging Musk's public image. Ashley St. Clair reveals private-life details and Musk's children in the documentary.
Documentary Release and Backlash
Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk-centered documentary “Musk,” described by Ars Technica as “a product of the peculiar social media-driven era in which we live,” is built around interviews that include Justine Musk, Kara Swisher, Martin Eberhard, Geoffrey Hinton, and Ashley St. Clair.
Variety reports that Gibney said he and producer Jessie Deeter “reached out” to Musk, and Gibney added that Musk responded on Twitter with “Gibney is a douche.”
Musk called the film a “hit piece” and wrote “dogshit is worth more respect,” while Gibney told The New York Times that Universal Pictures “wavered” on planning an international release.
The documentary’s theatrical rollout is tied to Bleecker Street, with Variety saying the film opened in theaters on Friday and generated $68,900 from four locations, averaging $17,225 per screen.
The New York Times framed the film’s premise around Gibney’s question, “How could Musk assume so much power, and why had we given it to him?”
Ashley St. Clair’s Account
Ashley St. Clair told The New York Times that her relationship with Elon Musk was more “emotionally intimate” than romantic, and she said, “We were in contact every day.”
St. Clair recalled vacationing in St. Bart's with Musk and said he told her, “You should have 10 kids! Let's have a kid. My only limited resource is time,” as she described the documentary’s depiction of his push for more children.
St. Clair said she turned down a $40 million NDA that offered $15 million up front and $100,000 per month over 21 years, and she said Musk disputed the NDA terms on X the day after the movie’s world premiere in September.
Musk wrote on X that “I have given Ashley $2.5M and am sending her $500k/year,” and St. Clair said she gave birth to their child in 2024.
E! News highlighted that Musk’s exes, including Justine Musk, appear in “Musk,” with Justine saying someone on Elon's side referred to them as 'the breeders.'
David Byrne’s Song and Lyrics
David Byrne and composer Daniel Pemberton wrote the concluding track “Let Me Sell You a Dream” for Alex Gibney’s documentary “Musk,” and Paste reported that the lyrics consist exclusively of Musk’s own statements. The Daily Beast said Byrne and Pemberton created the song out now on Matador Records, and Byrne described his approach as wanting to “let the character in the song be the one who describes himself.” The Playlist said the music video arrives just ahead of the film’s theatrical release, and it described the track as pulling its lyrics directly from Musk’s own public statements.
“The lyrics consist exclusively of Musk’s own statements.”
Paste said “Let Me Sell You a Dream” is available to stream online today (October 8), with MUSK opening in select theaters in New York City and Los Angeles tomorrow (October 9) and nationwide on October 16. Ars Technica noted that David Byrne co-wrote and performed the original song for the soundtrack, “Let Me Sell You a Dream,” incorporating more of Musk’s words.