Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ has already gotten under Elon Musk’s skin. It goes nationwide this week

Venice, Italy (AP) — Filmmaker Alex Gibney is facing backlash from Elon Musk over his upcoming documentary "Musk," which is set to premiere in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles, and expand nationwide on Friday. Musk has been highly critical of Gibney, calling him names such as "idiot," "horrible human," "shill for the far left," and a "tinfoil hat crackpot" with "zero credibility."

Earlier, Musk labeled the documentary as a "hit piece" and after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, he referred to it as a place where "dog feces is worth more respect." The filmmaker spent nearly four years in the making of the film, a comprehensive look into the life of the world's richest man, tracing his journey from his early days in Silicon Valley to his ventures in SpaceX, Tesla, and the creation of DOGE, the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.

The film runs nearly four hours and includes on-camera interviews with Musk's family members, journalists, business associates, former friends, colleagues, and government officials. HBO has agreed to distribute the film, but concerns have arisen about potential threats of lawsuits from Musk's camp and the possibility of the documentary being pulled from HBO following the Skydance merger.

Despite the backlash, Gibney remains undeterred, actively refuting false narratives and highlighting concerns of suppressed content through his own X account and a newly created account called @muskfilmfacts.