Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ Has a Unique Perspective on Daddy Issues

Director Alex Gibney spent four years researching Elon Musk for his film. He spoke with Musk's ex-wife, Justine Musk, former girlfriend Ashley St. Claire, journalist Kara Swisher, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, WIRED global editorial director Katie Drummond, and many of Musk's associates. However, securing an interview with Musk proved to be a major challenge.

Gibney explains that getting people to speak candidly about Musk was "very difficult" due to the high risk involved in delivering an honest portrayal. After interviewing all his subjects, Gibney had enough material for a nearly four-hour documentary, which includes a 10-minute intermission. The film depicts Musk as someone who creates his own mythology and relies heavily on promoting his image and stock prices of his public companies.

Because Musk refused to grant an interview, Gibney's team analyzed all of Musk's public statements and created a simulated version of the entrepreneur that appears throughout the film. Gibney chose to make the simulated Musk handsome, chiseled, and well-groomed, despite his real-life appearance often being unflattering. This decision was made to give the star of the film a fair presentation and avoid descending into low-level slander of Musk's look.

The filmmakers also made deliberate choices about what comments to include, aiming to portray Musks' statements in a fair and accountable manner while still highlighting his tendencies to promote an idealized image of himself. Gibney acknowledges the ethical considerations in creating such a documentary but maintains that the film stays true to Musk's actual words and actions.