Crafting a documentary is ultimately an exercise in navigating chaos, balancing delicate ethical lines, and imposing structure on the entirely unpredictable. Unlike traditional narrative filmmaking, where a locked script dictates every beat and action, a documentary filmmaker must step into the unpredictability of real life as it unfolds - and somehow sculpt that raw, unscripted reality into a compelling, cohesive cinematic journey. Even after all this, some documentaries remain unappreciated, especially by the very same person on whom they are based. 

The same happened with the new Musk documentary, which Elon Musk has spoken out against on social media.

Elon Musk criticized Alex Gibney's four-hour documentary about him, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, calling it a "hit piece" and "boring." Musk, which received numerous excellent reviews and a four-minute standing ovation at its premiere, aims to explain the world's richest man and his enormous effect. 

It delves deeply into Musk's transition to supporting MAGA, the controversy surrounding his Occupy Mars project and Tesla's self-driving cars, and his tense relationships with the mothers of several of his 14 children. On Wednesday, Musk started responding to posts on X (Twitter) about the documentary, commenting beneath a video of Gibney during the press conference for the film.

“Dogs**** is worth more respect,” the tech founder said about Gibney.

"He has ZERO integrity. Horrible human," he added in a different reply.

Elon Musk’s X reply seems to be too brutal and a personal attack on director Gibney. This goes on to show his strong disapproval of the things shown in the documentary. In an additional response, Musk described the documentary as a hit piece that fails and commits the deadly sin of being dull for four hours. When the movie was first announced in 2023, he also referred to it as a "hit piece."

Elon Musk Documentary Receives Four-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival

Elon Musk further dismisses the various claims and information provided by different interviews in the Musk documentary.

Interviews with his first wife, Justine Musk; his father, Errol Musk; Ashley St. Clair, the mother of his thirteenth child; Geoffrey Hinton, the "godfather of AI"; Martin Eberhard, co-founder of Tesla; Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn; and more are included in the Musk documentary. During her appearance on the Venice press conference panel, St. Clair claimed that following the birth of their child, Romulus, last year, Musk had offered her a $40 million NDA.

“I want to set the example for my kids that we should never take being materially comfortable that we’re speaking the truth,” St. Clair said.

According to Musk, all those who appeared in the film had either some grudge against him or simply did not know him enough to be talking. Director Alex Gibney claimed at the movie's press conference that he tried to interview Musk first, but he turned him down. Rather, Gibney and his crew created an AI avatar of Musk that speaks during the movie, which will be released in theaters in the United States on October 16 through Bleecker Street.

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Do you think Elon Musk’s criticism of the documentary was justified? Do let us know.