Elon Musk remained steadfastly absent from Alex Gibney’s new four-hour documentary portrait of the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, never agreeing to an on-camera interview. Instead, the acclaimed director employed a innovative cinematic device: a simulated, AI-generated avatar of Musk constructed entirely from archived public statements and audio recordings. This digital stand-in serves as the film’s narrative backbone, appearing throughout the nearly four-hour runtime, which includes a 10-minute intermission.
In a recent discussion with WIRED’s Zoë Schiffer, Gibney explained that the approach was both a practical necessity and a thematic choice. “He’s the main character,” Gibney noted. “I thought because he’d been so outspoken about this idea of a simulation, that cinematically we should lean into that. We should play in Elon’s sandbox and have a simulated interview.” The director also highlighted the documentary’s exploration of reality versus fabrication, as well as the growing cultural unease surrounding large language models and AI interfaces.
The visual design of the avatar was carefully considered. Gibney revealed that they deliberately made the digital Musk more attractive than his current public appearance—giving him a tan complexion, chiseled features, and a two-day beard. “I joke about this, but he’s the star of my movie, I want my star to look good,” Gibney admitted. He contrasted this polished rendering with the grotesque “slop AI” images often produced by Musk’s critics, arguing that an unflattering depiction would have undermined the film’s credibility and played into Musk’s own media wars.
Throughout the production, which spanned four years, securing interviews with Musk’s associates proved difficult due to the high risk profile associated with speaking candidly about him. According to Gibney, only one person agreed to participate immediately: Musk’s father, Errol. “We had Errol Musk at ‘hello,’” Gibney recalled. “Hello, Errol, would you like to appear in this documentary? Yes.” The crew quickly conducted a remote interview in South Africa, making it the only segment of the film not shot against a green screen.
Other prominent figures required significant persuasion. Justine Musk, the director’s first wife, spent over a year considering the request before agreeing to appear. Similarly, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman needed extensive conversation before committing. The film also features appearances from former girlfriend Ashley St. Clair, journalist Kara Swisher, and WIRED global editorial director Katie Drummond.
Gibney also addressed the ethical implications of designing an avatar that maintains direct eye contact with the viewer, a departure from Musk’s habitual avoidance of the camera in real interviews. The director argued that this formal choice reinforces the film’s exploration of the “strange unreality” of the modern digital age. He also noted that while the film includes some of Musk’s less flattering remarks, it selectively chooses his most potent rejoinders, portraying him as a shapeshifter rather than a coherent ideological figure.
Discussing Musk’s business acumen, particularly the acquisition of Twitter (now X), Gibney described the move as an impulsive act of high risk tolerance rather than a calculated long-term strategy. “From the standpoint of a businessman, it was just dumb,” Gibney said, noting that Musk abandoned due diligence and grossly overpaid. It was only later, Gibney suggested, that the platform’s utility as a propaganda tool became apparent to the billionaire.
“Musk” is set to hit theaters nationwide on Friday.
Gibney calling the Twitter acquisition dumb from a business standpoint is refreshing. Finally, someone says it plainly without the fanboy gloss.
So the documentary calls himself a shapeshifter while using a static AI face. Does that make the whole thing ironic or just confusing?
Only Errol Musk said yes immediately? That says everything about the family dynamic. Truly disturbing stuff.
It is honestly fascinating that they polished him up to look better than his current self. A digital makeover as narrative strategy.