“How Did That Turn Out for You?’- Robert De Niro Pokes Fun at Elon Musk at ‘Musk’ Documentary Screening
Screenings of films about real people tend to follow a familiar script, and unless the subject is a serial killer, the room is usually filled with praise for the person on screen. The screening of the Musk documentary looked very different. Robert De Niro took the stage and, instead of celebrating Elon Musk, chose to mock him.
Robert De Niro had one question for Elon Musk at Musk's New York screening, and it was not a compliment.
Robert De Niro throws a job at Elon Musk at Alex Gibney's Musk screening
The road to the release of a three-hour-and-forty-minute-long documentary about Elon Musk has not been without thorns. At first, Alex Gibney seemed to be at the receiving end of it, with Musk reportedly trying his best to push back against the documentary. However, with the Sunday screening in New York, it is Musk who is at the receiving end of thorns being delivered by none other than Robert De Niro himself.
"And he just spent close to half a billion on Republicans in this past week’s election. How did that turn out for you?" Robert De Niro said during the screening.
While giving a brief on Musk's recent failure, Robert De Niro also went on to poke fun at Musk's Cybertruck as reported by Deadline. Robert De Niro was not delivering these blows alone as his fellow Tribeca Festival founder Jane Rosenthal also attended along with other Oscar winners as per Variety.
Before the jokes and the Cybertruck, there was a film that Musk reportedly tried to push back against. What exactly is in it?
What is the Musk documentary about?
Directed by Oscar winner Alex Gibney, Musk is a sprawling examination of Elon Musk’s rise and the power that came with it. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and, according to NPR, runs three hours and 45 minutes, including a 10-minute intermission. Gibney has previously examined Enron, Elizabeth Holmes and Scientology, and here he frames Musk as the 21st-century reincarnation of the confidence man.
The documentary features people who drifted in and out of Musk’s world, including influencer Ashley St. Clair, who was in a relationship with Musk and gave birth to his 13th child, and tech journalist Zoë Schiffer.
Musk did not participate, so the film simulates an interview using a CGI avatar and AI voice syncing built from things he has really said in interviews, a choice Gibney called intentionally ironic. The film’s closing argument is that Musk has gone all-in on artificial intelligence and stopped worrying about humanity’s extinction because he has a plan B. The project has been in the works since 2023, when Musk dismissed it as a hit piece.
Musk may have refused to take part in the documentary, but at the New York screening, De Niro made sure he was still part of the conversation.
What do you think about Robert De Niro's jab? Let us know in the comments.
Edited By: Adiba Nizami
