TORONTO, Canada — Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney said Elon Musk did not answer repeated requests to participate in a documentary examining his life and influence.
Gibney made the remarks at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 13, 2026, after Musk’s lawyer warned the film’s producers of a possible defamation lawsuit.
The nearly four-hour documentary, Musk, premiered earlier this month at the Venice Film Festival. It is scheduled for an October theatrical release before becoming available on HBO Max.
Filmmakers and Musk’s Lawyer Dispute Outreach
Speaking during a festival event in Toronto, Gibney said he contacted Musk after the legal warning.
“I reached out immediately,” Gibney said. “But he clearly wasn’t interested in talking.”
Gibney said his production team had also made numerous formal approaches to Musk while preparing the documentary but received no response beyond his public comments on X.
Alex Spiro, Musk’s lawyer, offered a different account in a letter sent to Jigsaw Productions. Spiro said Musk’s representatives had repeatedly sought to present his position but were refused access by the filmmakers.
Musk attacked the documentary after its Venice premiere, saying Gibney had “zero integrity”. He also said the film relied on interviews with people hostile towards him or people who did not know him personally.
It remains unclear whether Musk has watched the documentary.
Gibney said lawyers and independent fact-checkers reviewed the film before its festival screenings. Jigsaw Productions has defended its right under the First Amendment to produce fact-based examinations of powerful public figures.
Starlink Texts Draw Legal Objection
Spiro’s legal warning focused partly on an exchange between Musk and Ashley St. Clair, a former conservative influencer who has a child with him.
St. Clair shared messages that Musk sent before the 2024 presidential election. In one, he expressed confidence that Donald Trump would win, writing, “tomorrow we unleash the anomaly in the matrix.”
When St. Clair asked what he meant, Musk replied, “‘Lasers’ from space … I have over 10 thousand lasers in space.”
Spiro argued that the documentary’s treatment of the exchange promoted a debunked conspiracy theory that Starlink satellites had been used to influence voting in swing states.
“Starlink’s satellites communicate by laser inter-satellite link; that is what ‘lasers in space’ describes,” Spiro wrote.
The lawyer said the filmmakers had been informed that the alleged insinuation was false before the documentary’s theatrical release.
Film Examines DOGE Data Access
The documentary examines Musk’s involvement in politics, media, technology, and government, including his period leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
The Trump administration initiative ended in 2026.
Gibney has said DOGE personnel received extensive administrative access to government systems containing information about American citizens.
The film raises questions about whether data accessed during that period could later be combined with artificial intelligence and used for political purposes.
At Venice, Gibney described the possible transfer of the information to one of Musk’s companies, and its potential use to influence the November midterm election, as conjecture.
He did not claim that government data had been transferred, that Musk’s companies possessed it, or that an election-influence operation had occurred.
Musk also examines the billionaire’s ownership of X and allegations presented by the film about how the platform’s artificial intelligence systems shape content.
Gibney uses an AI-generated avatar paired with Musk’s recorded voice during parts of the documentary.
Among those interviewed are St. Clair, Musk’s former wife Justine Musk, and journalist Zoë Schiffer. Musk did not participate.
Theatrical Release Moved Forward
Bleecker Street has advanced the film’s theatrical release by one week.
The 225-minute documentary will open in New York and Los Angeles on October 9, with a nationwide expansion to follow.
Screenings will include a 10-minute intermission.
Gibney said he was concerned that corporate changes involving HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, could eventually affect the documentary’s availability on HBO Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery is pursuing a merger with Paramount, which is led by David Ellison.
His father, Larry Ellison, is a technology billionaire whom Gibney described as a friend of Musk and an investor in Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.
The Justice Department approved Paramount’s bid earlier this summer, although several states have mounted an antitrust challenge.
Gibney said he had received no opposition from HBO Max over the documentary. The film is expected to reach the streaming service later this year or in early 2027.
