Elon Musk’s Lawyers Threaten Legal Action Ahead Of ‘Defamatory’ Documentary Premiere

Lawyers for American billionaire Elon Musk have issued a formal legal warning to the producers of a new four-hour documentary about his life, accusing the filmmakers of including defamatory material in the production.

The letter, dated September 3 and sent by Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, to a producer at Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, accused the Oscar-winning filmmaker of constructing the documentary, titled Musk, around a conclusion he had already reached rather than conducting an impartial investigation.

Spiro also alleged that Gibney declined to verify information contained in the documentary with Musk or individuals close to him. According to the letter, the production was allegedly built around a predetermined narrative rather than an open-ended examination of Musk’s life and activities.

Despite the legal threat, the documentary premiered Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival, where it reportedly received an extended standing ovation and largely positive reviews from critics.

The four-hour film traces Musk’s journey from his early years as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur during the dot-com era to his South African upbringing and his emergence as one of the world’s most powerful technology billionaires.

The documentary also examines aspects of Musk’s personal life, including his difficult childhood and his 14 known children with multiple partners. Industry publications have largely responded favourably to the film, with Variety describing it as a “lacerating portrait,” while Deadline characterised it as a damning production that presents Musk in an unflattering light.

Musk’s legal warning extends beyond Gibney and Jigsaw Productions to other companies involved in the film’s distribution, including HBO, Bleecker Street and Universal.

The letter reportedly singles out one particular segment involving claims that Musk knew Donald Trump had won the 2024 U.S. presidential election early on election night because his Starlink satellite network had allegedly been used to influence the election outcome.

Spiro characterised the claim as the promotion of a conspiracy theory, adding to the legal concerns raised by Musk’s team about the documentary’s contents.

Jigsaw Productions, however, rejected the criticism and defended the project in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. The production company argued that scrutiny of powerful public figures is protected by the First Amendment and said that principle should be defended by everyone, including people within Musk’s circle, given his own public support for freedom of speech.

Gibney has built a reputation for documentaries examining powerful individuals and institutions. His previous works have covered subjects including the Church of Scientology, Enron and covert intelligence conflicts, while his 2007 documentary Taxi to the Dark Side won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Amid the threat of anticipated litigation, Musk’s legal team has also instructed the filmmakers to preserve materials connected to the production, including raw footage, interview transcripts, research documents and internal communications.

Musk has meanwhile spent several days publicly criticising Gibney on X, the social media platform he owns. He has dismissed the documentary as a poorly executed “hit piece” and described it as boring.

The legal dispute has added another layer of controversy to the documentary, which places the life, business empire and political influence of one of the world’s most prominent technology figures under intense scrutiny.