Musk

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alex Gibney directs. Ben Bloodwell behind the camera. Daniel Pemberton scores. Michael J. Palmer cuts. A long sit — settle in. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1At 235 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
• 2Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
• 3Directed by Alex Gibney, shot by Ben Bloodwell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Daniel Pemberton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Michael J. Palmer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Elon Musk and Justine Musk and Ashley St. Clair carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "An unflinching look at Earth's most unchecked man.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt27041231 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Ben Bloodwell

Original score

Daniel Pemberton

Editing

Michael J. Palmer

Runtime

235 min · 3h 55m

Status

Released

Box office

$69,321

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Musk (2026) ↗

Also by

Alex Gibney

• 
  30 for 30 - ESPN Films

  2011 · ★ 9.0
• 
  AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies

  1998 · ★ 8.4
• 
  Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos

  2024 · ★ 8.3
• 
  30 for 30 Shorts

  2012 · ★ 7.8
• 
  The Crime of the Century

  2021 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Billions

  2016 · ★ 7.8

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Teaser

  Teaser · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Brent Marchant2026-10-17
  ★ 8/10

  When an individual is allowed/enabled to amass and exert vast social, political and economic influence over society, it would sensibly behoove us to acquire as much knowledge as possible about said person. But, in many cases, we’re often distracted by the charisma of such figures, spellbound by their stories, accomplishments and visions. Those impressions, however, may leave us with an incomplete or distorted image of these individuals as we tend to buy into their carefully crafted personas more than what may actually be true. And, as this new documentary from writer-director Alex Gibney asserts, that’s very much the case where engineer/inventor/investor Elon Musk is concerned. As the world’s richest man and often called the planet’s greatest capitalist, according to the filmmaker’s assessment, in a comparatively short time span, Musk has risen to a level of tremendous, virtually unchecked power – perhaps even outstripping that of the world’s most formidable leaders – to be able to effectively call the shots in many areas of life. Having built a business empire through the founding and/or acquisition/management of such enterprises as Spacex, Tesla Motors and Twitter/X, as well as his efforts as an advisor/confidante to President Donald Trump and head of the US government’s dubiously named Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the South African-born entrepreneur has emerged as an omnipresent icon in contemporary American (and, ostensibly, global) society. But what do we know about him as an individual? And have his accomplishments truly lived up to their expectations and promises? Those are the questions this release seeks to address, and, as the results show, they don’t necessarily bear out the claims and the hype. In fact, the film paints a very different picture from what many of us have been led to believe. With a runtime just a hair shy of four hours (thank heavens for intermissions), “Musk” undertakes a systematic dismantling of its subject, presenting a wealth of disinformation about and insights from those who claim to know the protagonist best. Rather than being a stalwart, altruistic, visionary captain of industry, the film portrays Musk as a self-serving narcissist with arguably sociopathic tendencies (not unlike conditions in the environment in which he grew up). Like those who P.T. Barnum astutely warned us about, the filmmaker labels Musk as a master stock huckster whose stories are so compelling, convincing and provocative that he has been able to convince many to follow his lead as investors just on the basis of his promises alone, whether or not they hold water. And, because of that, he has accumulated the financial power to pursue his visions and whims, no matter how realistic or unrealistic they may be. In Gibney’s view, that kind of clout has made Musk into a present-day personification of the lead character in the cinematic classic “The Man Who Could Work Miracles” (1936), who, thanks to experimental divine intervention, personal initiative and unbridled ambition, came to believe he could accomplish anything, regardless of how wise or beneficial his plans may be. But can viewers believe everything the filmmaker has to say about all this? As a director known for taking on controversial subjects in documentaries like “Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief” (2015) and “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” (2005), this latest offering is very much in the same vein as those previous works. What’s more, as revealed early on in the picture, the filmmaker freely admits that Musk was openly (and hostilely) unwilling to work with him on this project, which, despite this courageous acknowledgment, could suggest that a certain degree of axe-grinding may have been behind this production. In fact, because of this lack of cooperation, Gibney was backed into creating a sort of virtual version of Musk by editing together sound bytes from recordings of everything the protagonist supposedly ever said, placed in a videogame setting, a suitable backdrop drop for this characterization given his interest in this pastime (and a belief that we all may be part of a vast simulation of which most of us are unaware). Some might question this treatment as a mockery of the subject, but, when paired with complimentary acknowledgments of some of the protagonist’s achievements, one might also see this element as a genuine metaphorical depiction. Whatever conclusions audiences may draw from all this, if the filmmaker is given the benefit of the doubt, this release could be viewed as an authentic, albeit cringeworthy cautionary tale, one whose content should be taken seriously. Granted, the film could arguably have been pared back somewhat (especially in the disorganized opening hour), but, once the picture finds its groove, it’s hard to look away and doesn’t at all seem like it’s as long as it is. Indeed, it’s often difficult to know exactly what to make of an enigma, and Musk certainly fits that bill. But, if nothing else, it should raise some important questions for all of us to ask before we give away the store and there’s no going back.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Jigsaw Productions

  US

• 

  Closer Media

  US

• 

  Anonymous Content

  US

• 

  Double Agent

  US

• RO

  Ronan Production Group

  US

Key crew

• Executive ProducerMichael Heimler
• Executive ProducerWilliam Horberg
• Executive ProducerDavid Levine
• Executive ProducerYariv Milchan
• Executive ProducerStacey Offman
• ProducerDana O'Keefe
• ProducerJessie Deeter
• ProducerJoey Marra
• ProducerAlex Gibney
• ProducerJessica Grimshaw
• Executive ProducerRichard Perello
• ProducerNick Shumaker
• ProducerZhang Xin
• Executive ProducerKent Sanderson
• ProducerErin Edeiken
• Executive ProducerTyler DiNapoli
• ProducerRonan Farrow
• ProducerLawrence Wright
• EditorMichael J. Palmer
• Executive ProducerEmily Selinger
• SongsDavid Byrne
• Executive ProducerNatalie Lehmann
• Executive ProducerJohn Friedberg

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• immigrant
• south africa
• billionaire
• exposé
• biographical documentary

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2026-09-18· Camden International Film Festival
• Premiere2026-09-26· Beyond Fest
• Premiere2026-10-07· Mill Valley Film Festival
• Premiere2026-10-05· Hamptons International Film Festival
• Premiere2026-10-15· Woodstock Film Festival
• Premiere2026-10-16· Chicago International Film Festival
• Premiere2026-10-14· Santa Fe International Film Festival
• Premiere2026-10-17· Montclair Film Festival
• Theatrical (limited)2026-10-09R· New York City, New York / Los Angeles, California
• Theatrical2026-10-16R