Elon Musk documentary trailer drops ahead of Venice premiere: 'Man who's lost his mind'

A new documentary is taking a hard look at Elon Musk's rise and influence. 

Titled simply Musk, the film comes from writer-director Alex Gibney and hits theaters October 16. 

Ahead of its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 8, the nearly four-hour documentary released a new trailer that doesn't hold back.

The teaser features a rocket launching into space while several news clips pop up to describe Musk, 55, in wildly different terms — from "possibly the greatest living inventor" and "the real-life Iron Man" to "chaotic, random, capricious" and "manifestly cruel and selfish." 

The trailer builds to a title card labeling Musk "Earth's most unchecked man," with a voice declaring him "a man who has lost his mind" as the rocket crashes back to the ground.

Musk did not take part in the documentary and also previously criticised it on X, calling it a "hit piece," to which, the Emmy- and Oscar-nominated Gibney responded by questioning how Musk would know, given his lack of involvement.

A description from the Toronto International Film Festival, where the film will also screen, frames Musk's influence as sweeping—pointing to his role in popularising electric vehicles through Tesla, expanding internet access via Starlink, taking over Twitter, and reshaping parts of the US government through DOGE. It also notes his central role in AI development and his recent rise to become the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX went public in June.

The documentary also features commentary from Kara Swisher and Sam Harris, along with an appearance from Musk's first ex-wife, Justine Musk. 

Gibney, known for documentaries like Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and The Inventor, co-wrote the film with Michael J. Palmer.

Musk will be released in theaters by Bleecker Street on October 16.