Documentarian Alex Gibney on the power and influence of Elon Musk

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Alex Gibney has made films about powerful people, corporations and organizations before: Enron, Elizabeth Holmes, Scientology and the U.S. military’s abuses at Bagram and Abu Ghraib are just a few. And yet, he said, nothing compares to the scope of power held by his latest subject, Elon Musk.

With a nearly four-hour runtime, “Musk” is having its world premiere this week at the Venice Film Festival. It's one of the most hotly anticipated of the festival and the year — Bleecker Street is releasing it in theaters in October.

Gibney spoke to The Associated Press about upending the Musk myth, his revelations about his power and his support of President Donald Trump.

Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.

GIBNEY: A number of people came to me a few years ago, actually early 2023, and said, would you like to make a film about him? And I initially wasn’t sure, but a really good friend of mine convinced me that it was a good idea because it would be a portrait of kind of 21st century power. And so with that, I dug in.

GIBNEY: In some ways it’s a simple story (with) a lot of complicated details. I think the source of his power comes from, how should I put this, (expletive)? That is to say, his ability to speak with confidence about the future in ways that convince people to invest in his companies. It’s really a future that rarely is in sync with facts or evidence or any remote possibility. So that is really what I discovered. That and the fact I think his genius, if there is a genius, is that he is not an inventor, he’s an investor. His genius is stock pumping.

The other thing I discovered was that the reasons for turning toward Trump were both a break with the past, I mean, people look to the way that he was idolized by many people on the, you could call it the left, or people who regarded him as a kind of climate savior for what he was doing with Tesla. Many people wondered about that transition. I discovered two things. One is, in a way, it was a predictable transition because he goes where the federal government money is.

But the other reason is his companies were facing an enormous number of federal investigations. And indeed, Tesla was under criminal investigation. But out of that case, there was a good chance that under a (Kamala) Harris administration, he might go to prison. He joked about that on the Tucker Carlson show. I think those were two key motivators that I had initially underestimated. A lot of people clocked it to the woke mind virus. After doing some research, I didn’t see it that way.

GIBNEY: Nothing compares to this in terms of the scope of his power. What’s interesting about Musk is it’s not so much something that’s new as an old wine in a new bottle. And Musk, I think like some of the characters that I’ve followed in the past, is afflicted with what some people call noble cause corruption. That is to say, you begin to believe in a cause. And in Musk’s case, it was making us multiplanetary and also leading us into a more sustainable environmental world. And because you’re in line with those important, valuable, good causes, anything you do in the service of those causes is OK. And ultimately that leads you to corruption.

In a way, Musk is not dissimilar from the guys at Enron. He’s not dissimilar from Elizabeth Holmes in the way that he bent the truth to serve his impulses.

The one big difference with Musk is that he has companies (SpaceX and Tesla) which contain a great number of very qualified engineers and executive leaders.

GIBNEY: What is it that physicist Richard Feynman used to say? It’s good to have an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out. There is always bias, but I’m always willing to have my assumptions challenged. I started off as a kind of an admirer and was honest in my desire to want to talk to him, but ultimately he didn’t want to talk to me. Then you start digging into the facts and you follow them where they lead. And where they led for me was to a place that upended the myth, I would say, of Elon Musk as a kind of modern Leonardo da Vinci.

GIBNEY: He didn’t really except in so far as the fact that people were terribly afraid to speak to me on the record, or at least on camera. They were just terrified of Elon. And these were people in his companies. These were people who knew him well. These were supporters and critics.

A lot of people close to him who were his admirers would say, “I can’t talk to you unless I get Elon’s permission.” I thought, wow, for such a big and powerful person, that seems awfully weak.

GIBNEY: This probably doesn’t share that much with the Melania documentary.

One of the things I would say about the film is it’s a dark and dangerous topic, but the film itself is a fun ride.

For ongoing coverage of the 2026 Venice Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival

This combination of images show filmmaker Alex Gibney, left, and Elon Musk. (AP Photo)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Germany on Monday will challenge claims at the United Nations’ top court that it is “facilitating” acts of genocide in Gaza by providing arms and other military support to Israel.

Nicaragua, which launched the case at the International Court of Justice, accuses Berlin of violating the Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law. While the case centers on Germany, it indirectly takes aim at Israel’s campaign in Gaza in response to the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.

Israel, which isn’t a party in the proceedings, strongly denies that its actions amount to acts of genocide.

Monday’s hearing at the court in The Hague will address questions raised by Germany over whether the court has jurisdiction in the case.

The conflict left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and devastated the enclave. Despite a fragile ceasefire brokered by the United States last year, violence has continued. Since the ceasefire was announced, Israeli fire has killed more than 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza. Five Israeli soldiers have also been killed.

Germany has been a staunch supporter of Israel for decades and is the second-largest supplier of arms to Israel after the United States.

Berlin denies Nicaragua's allegations. The head of Germany’s legal team, Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, told judges during an earlier hearing that Nicaragua’s claims “have no basis in fact or law.”

Last year, Germany stopped authorizing any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza but later lifted those restrictions.

In 2024, the court rejected an emergency request from Nicaragua to order Germany to halt military and other aid to Israel in Gaza, but the 16-judge panel declined to throw out the case altogether.

The proceedings are the latest legal attempt to rein in Israel’s military campaign by a country with historic ties to the Palestinian people, after South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the same court in 2023.

In January 2024, judges at the ICJ ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza. Two months later, the court told Israel to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies.

South Africa says that Israel largely ignored those orders.

Both South Africa’s case against Israel and Nicaragua’s case against Germany allege violations of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The convention was drawn up in the wake of the Holocaust to codify a new crime: genocide.

A team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council and the largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide have both concluded that Israel is violating the treaty but only an international court can make a legal determination.

Proceedings at the ICJ can drag on for years. In 2007, the court ruled that Serbia “violated the obligation to prevent genocide” in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, when Bosnian Serb forces rounded up and murdered some 8,000 mostly Muslim men and boys in eastern Bosnia.

In May, the court set a November 2027 deadline for South Africa to file its written pleadings and gave Israel until May 2029 to reply. Hearings on the core question of the case — whether Israel committed genocide in Gaza — likely won’t be heard until late 2029 at the earliest.

In separate proceedings at the International Criminal Court, also in The Hague, which tries cases against individuals rather than between nations, judges have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in connection with the conflict.

The pair are charged with crimes against humanity, not genocide. The court said it found that there was reason to believe they used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.

In response, the United States has issued sanctions against many senior court staff, including nine of the ICC’s 18 judges.

FILE - The logo of the International Court of Justice displayed on the judges' bench, in The Hague, Netherlands, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)