Musk Has Used Information to Accumulate Power, Film Shows

Elon Musk has long been everywhere; Alex Gibney's new documentary argues that's precisely the problem. In a sweeping film profile described in the Hollywood Reporter by Steven Zeitchik, Gibney focuses on Musk not as an eccentric billionaire but as a figure quietly consolidating unprecedented power through data, satellites, and government access. The film traces Musk's path from PayPal to Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, Neuralink, and his brief but consequential leadership of the federal DOGE unit, framing him as a salesman whose true advantage lies in control of information—not technology alone.

Gibney pushes harder in the second half of Musk. He raises questions about Musk's influence over US policy via Starlink in Ukraine, NASA's reliance on SpaceX, and DOGE's reported "super admin" access to federal IT systems. Sources including AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton suggest such data could give Republicans an edge in coming elections. Musk declined to participate in the project; Gibney instead builds a case with whistleblowers, former allies, and an uncanny Musk avatar. The nearly four-hour film premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday. For the full rundown—and the most pointed allegations—read Zeitchik's piece here.