Alex Gibney's new Elon Musk documentary frames founder as confidence man

Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney released a new biographical documentary titled Musk that challenges the public image of Elon Musk as a visionary tech titan. The film presents Musk as a Gilded Age confidence man adapted for the 21st century, characterizing him as an investor cosplaying as an inventor whose primary skill is boosting stock prices and dazzling the public with visions of a high-tech utopia.

Gibney’s documentary covers well-known ground regarding Musk’s massive influence on the technology sector over the last 20 years. The film is designed to provoke strong reactions from both fans and detractors of the Tesla and SpaceX founder, reflecting the social media-driven era in which it was made.

Gibney has produced documentaries since the 1980s, with subjects including Jimi Hendrix, Hunter S. Thompson, WikiLeaks, Scientology, Steve Jobs, and Elizabeth Holmes. His upcoming documentary You Can See Everything features comedian Nathan Fielder. Other past subjects include Boris Becker, The Sopranos creator David Chase, alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, the opioid epidemic, and cyclist Lance Armstrong.

Gibney received his first Oscar nomination for the 2005 film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. He won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature two years later for Taxi to the Dark Side.