Elon Musk’s Lawyer Says Alex Gibney’s Documentary 'Reeks of Defamation' and Threatens Lawsuit Over Election Claims

Elon Musk is threatening to sue director Alex Gibney and his production company, Jigsaw Productions, over a new four-hour documentary titled Musk, which recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

Musk's high-profile attorney, Alex Spiro, sent a formal legal letter claiming the film's insinuation that Musk used his Starlink satellites to tilt the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Donald Trump's favor "reeks of defamation" and is entirely false, even though the director used the SpaceX mogul's own words to prove otherwise.

The legal warning zeroed in on the film's suggestion that Starlink satellites were used to manipulate the election. Spiro's letter put the producers "on notice" before the movie's wide release, stating that the public record refutes these claims.

Ashley St. Clair, Musk's former partner and the mother of one of his 14 children, appears prominently in the film.

She claims Musk told her before the election that he would unleash an "anomaly in the matrix." She also alleged that she turned down a $40 million non-disclosure agreement to speak freely.

On X, the Tesla titan denied offering St. Clair a $40 million settlement, stating she has a "history of making false claims.”

He went on to blast Gibney, calling him a "horrible human" with "ZERO integrity" who compiled a "hit list of people who either have an axe to grind or don't even know me.”

Gibney also responded to the billionaire's claim that he just assembled a "hit list of people with an axe to grind."

Gibney said the hardest part of making the movie was overcoming a "tremendous sense of fear" among potential sources. He noted that many critics, friends and former business colleagues of Musk suffered from an "almost existential fear" of retaliation and refused to speak on camera, praising the bravery of those who did.

Gibney, known for hard-hitting investigative films, has defended his point-of-view style. When asked about potential legal backlash, Gibney stated that his legal teams have already vetted and signed off on the film.

When specifically asked about the threat of a lawsuit from Musk’s lawyer, Gibney remained unbothered. He stated that his team meticulously vetted the four-hour film.

"We consulted our lawyers, and they gave us a sign-off to go forward,” he said.

Musk claimed the film's insinuation that he used Starlink to manipulate the 2024 election was entirely fabricated. However, Gibney noted that the film actually uses Musk's own words against him.

The film shows a verified text exchange between Musk and St. Clair in which Musk boasts, "I have ten thousand lasers in space," right after talking about unleashing an "anomaly in the matrix." Off-camera in the documentary, Gibney asks St. Clair if Musk was referring to Starlink, and she replies, "I don't know where else he has space lasers." Rather than making a definitive claim of election rigging, Gibney explained that the film "leaves the meaning hanging" for the audience to interpret based on Musk’s actual messages.

Gibney did not hold back on his personal assessment of Musk's current political trajectory, explicitly calling him "extremely dangerous" to global democracy. He argued that Musk is actively pursuing a global right-wing agenda for both ideological and practical, monetary reasons.

The documentary, which critics have described as a "damning" and "alarming" summary of Musk's rise to power, is scheduled for a wide theatrical release on October 16.