Documentarian Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour film exploring Elon Musk’s ascent debuted at the Venice Film Festival, detailing state funding, a fear of civilizational collapse, and political influence surrounding the tech tycoon’s path to Donald Trump’s administration.
Veteran documentarian Alex Gibney brought one of the most anticipated projects of the Venice Film Festival to the screen with a comprehensive look at the world’s wealthiest figure, tracking an investigation that began in late 2022 before the billionaire’s pivot into the Make America Great Again movement and Trump 2.0. Clocking in at just under four hours, the documentary examines the mechanics of immense financial and political accumulation, presenting a sprawling narrative built on interviews with individuals from the tech tycoon’s inner circle.
Subsidies, ZEV Credits, and Government Contracts
While often celebrated at political rallies as America’s biggest capitalist
, the documentary demonstrates that Musk has frequently relied on government assistance to scale his enterprises. Gibney highlights early efforts to secure contracts with NASA and the military by cultivating relationships during the Obama administration, alongside a June 2013 Tesla demonstration for a battery-swap system.
Interviewees in the film note that the technology showcased at the Harris Ranch demonstration site was barely used and never rolled out broadly. According to the documentary’s filmmaker, that high-profile presentation served to secure lucrative zero-emission vehicle credits from the California government, which Tesla could then monetize by selling them to more polluting automotive manufacturers.
Civilizational Fear and the Drive for a Legion of Children
The documentary probes the personal motivations behind the tech leader’s vast family expansion, which includes 14 publicly known children. Text messages cited in the film reveal that his desire to father a legion of children
stems from a profound fear of civil war and civilizational collapse.
Gibney traces the roots of this apocalyptic anxiety back to a traumatic South African upbringing, noting archival footage of his father, Errol Musk, discussing an incident involving intruders at their home. It’s no doubt he had a traumatic childhood,
Gibney said at a press conference in Venice, adding that the billionaire is now playing out the trauma on the rest of us.
The film also highlights the role of Jared Birchall, a trusted advisor whom influencer and former partner Ashley St. Clair characterizes as a demon
and henchman
while managing agreements and nondisclosure negotiations with the mothers of his children.
The Oval Office Clash and the Epstein Files Post
The relationship between Musk and Donald Trump suffered a dramatic fracture in mid-2025 following disputes over the One Big Beautiful Bill, which the SpaceX founder labeled a disgusting abomination.
The friction culminated in a public social media war after Musk was pushed out of the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency was disbanded.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, recounting the volatility of that period during an appearance on Patrick Bet-David’s podcast, described standing in the Oval Office in June 2025 to discuss a school-choice provision when Natalie Harp—an aide often dubbed the president’s human printer
—walked in with a fresh printout of an explosive X post.
“I’m sitting in the Oval, and his knuckles turn white.”
Ted Cruz, Texas Senator
The post in question featured Musk declaring that it was time to drop the really big bomb
and alleging that Trump’s name was in the Epstein files, asserting that this was the primary reason those documents remained sealed. Cruz characterized the interruption as a hand grenade thrown in the middle of everything,
noting that the policy discussion instantly derailed as the president reacted with intense anger.
Electoral Certainty and the 2024 Victory
Before the subsequent public falling out and eventual reconciliation, Musk played a financial and promotional role in the November 2024 election cycle, contributing over a hundred million dollars to support Donald Trump’s return to the White House according to political reporting.
An Uneasy Alliance and Unresolved Trust
Although the public feud subsided and the two figures have mended ties in recent months, reports note that the president reportedly still doesn’t trust the trillionaire totally yet. The documentary and subsequent commentary underscore the volatile nature of a partnership where vast technological influence intersects directly with the highest levels of American political power.
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