By Sarah A. Spitz
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) October 14, 2026
If you haven’t heard, Alex Gibney, the award-winning investigative documentary filmmaker, has created a four-hour film about Elon Musk, the sociopathic self-proclaimed founder of Tesla…and even at this length, I still wanted more. I cannot say enough bad things about the man. He’s the epitome of evil and narcissism.
There is so much going on here. First, Musk did not agree to participate, so Gibney did what needed to be done: he created a digital avatar of Musk, that uses his own words, culled from thousands of hours of interviews and other source material, and fills in the blanks with people who have either been bloodied by him or who believe in their misbegotten idea of his genius. Fair play, as Musk thinks we’re living in a simulation anyway. And the creature that sits in for the man is truly creepy…almost as creepy as Musk himself.
The man is an unholy terror. Look at what he’s just done to Ukraine, slowing Starlink’s Internet speed to screw up their ability to defend themselves against Russian attacks. This is something that the film takes prescient note of, when Starlink becomes the subject matter in the second half (following a precisely timed 10 minute intermission).
This kind of power should not rest in the hands of a madman, which I (and I’m not alone) consider Musk to be. Musk’s own South African father—a chillingly racist sociopath himself—in praising his son effectively damns him. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Photo by Gregg Segal
Aside from the myths he created about founding Tesla, which are prove-ably false, his self aggrandizement and the company’s rampant expansion at the expense of public safety is incomprehensibly appalling. Again, the details are fact-based, despite every effort on Musk’s part to obfuscate truth, data and the real story behind a number of fatal Tesla crashes.
We move through the phases of his career and are confronted with his inhumane self-propagation through impregnating women whom he specifically selects, in order to create a “legion of soldiers” in his own image. His favorite son X, the result of his relationship with musician Grimes, has been prevented from seeing his mother by this cruel and immoral fascist. He makes women sign NDAs in exchange for support of their children; only one was brave enough not to sign, and she figures strongly in this documentary.
Ashley St. Clair, a former MAGA conservative, did not bite when Musk’s henchman (oddly a Mormon, you’d think HIS moral code might kick in, but no) came to her with the offer that she chose to refuse. She is as candid as her safety will allow, since Musk is vicious in retaliation against anyone who speaks about or against him.
His first wife Justine is also prominently featured, and reveals exactly how emotionless the man is, ultimately leading to the fact that his daughter Jenna is now a trans woman, whom he claims is a dead son to him, and helps explain his rampant rage (and political campaign funding) against LGBTQ people and issues.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk walks to the stage to speak alongside Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
When he joined league with Trump, Musk took over Twitter (sorry, “X”) and turned it into a neo-Nazi mouthpiece. How he took it over is both a nightmare and the playbook for other companies he owns, and is carefully documented in the film.
Donald Trump gleefully handed over the reins of Americans’ personal data to Musk when he put him in charge of DOGE (remember the chainsaw??). And his teenage and 20-something data nerds who had no idea what they were doing, now have handed over all that data to him. Who knows what he is planning to do with this, now that he also owns his own AI company.
He’s nearly singlehandedly running America’s space program, and now he’s got his hands on the military, too, thanks to Pete Hegseth. His ownership of Starlink raises additional moral, ethical and as always, political questions. There is far too much that he can do to control these levers of power for anyone to trust him, or worse, to be able to stop him.
All in all, this is a necessary documentary, well worth the time it takes to watch it. It opened in Los Angeles last week, but goes nationwide on October 16. I urge you to see it, and urge you to do whatever you can to fight back in any way possible. He’s become the shadow President now, and as horror movies go, this one’s the most frightening of all.
