Alex Gibney's 'Musk' Documentary Hits Theaters Oct. 9

Alex Gibney's documentary "Musk" opens in U.S. theaters on Oct. 9, and Bleecker Street has now released the first trailer for the nearly four-hour exposé about Elon Musk, the world's richest man.

The film premiered out of competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 8, where it received a four-minute standing ovation. It then screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Gibney, one of America's most prolific documentary filmmakers, takes on one of popular culture's most divisive figures in a sprawling portrait that runs to almost four hours. The trailer promises a dissection of Musk's legacy across his roles as tech mogul, owner of X and dominant force in electric vehicles and spaceflight.

What has Musk said about the film?

Musk has no involvement in the documentary, and he has made his assessment of Gibney's work clear on X, his own social media platform.

Under a video of Gibney at a press conference for "Musk," Musk wrote that "dogshit is worth more respect" than the director.

In a separate reply, he claimed that Gibney "just assembled a hit list of people who either have an axe to grind or don't even know me (but still have an axe to grind)." He added: "He has ZERO integrity. Horrible human."

The outburst gives the film's marketing an unusual tension: its subject is attacking it in public, on a platform he owns, weeks before its commercial release.

Who is releasing it?

Bleecker Street, the New York-based distributor behind previous awards-season contenders, holds U.S. theatrical rights and set the Oct. 9 release date. The company dropped the trailer as the film transitions from its festival run — Venice, then Toronto — into theaters.

Gibney's credits include major documentaries on powerful institutions and individuals, and "Musk" positions him squarely against a subject who controls one of the world's most influential communications platforms. The director has not shied from that confrontation, previewing the film at press events that drew Musk's scorn online.

With Musk actively campaigning against the film on X, the Oct. 9 theatrical release will test whether controversy translates into audiences for a documentary of uncommon length about the world's richest man.