Musk threatens legal action over documentary

Washington: Days before the premiere of a new documentary about multibillionaire Elon Musk, his lawyers have issued a formal legal notice to the film's makers, accusing them of defamation. In a letter sent to a producer at Alex Gibney's production company, attorney Alex Spiro claims the Oscar-winning documentarian built Musk around a predetermined conclusion and refused to fact-check the film with the world's richest man or those close to him.

The Sept 3 letter stated that the project never began as an inquiry but with a conclusion in mind. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, receiving a standing ovation and favorable reviews. Critics, including Variety and Deadline, described it as a "lacerating portrait" and a "damning" film that portrayed Musk as petty, narcissistic, megalomaniacal, and cruel.

The legal notice specifically targets a sequence that Spiro says advances a conspiracy theory, alleging Musk knew early on election night 2024 that Trump had won due to his Starlink satellites being used to influence the result. Jigsaw Productions, the film's production company, responded by stating that critical scrutiny of powerful public figures is protected by the First Amendment and that it stands by its right to defend the interests of all Americans, including Musk.

The letter from Musk's legal team also orders the filmmakers to preserve all aspects of the project, including footage, interviews, research files, and internal communications, on the grounds that litigation is reasonably anticipated. Musk has been actively attacking Gibney on his platform, X, previously Twitter, calling the film a "hit piece that misses" and dismissing it as boring.