A new documentary about Elon Musk, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, has brought back into focus a series of serious accusations and claims against the American billionaire. The film builds an alarming portrait of the world’s richest man, linking his image not only to wealth and technological influence, but also to contested behavior in his private life, business and politics.
Strong claims from the women who have been close to him
At the center of the documentary are testimonies from several women who have had relationships with Musk, including his former wife Justine Wilson and Ashley St Clair, the mother of one of his children. According to their accounts, Musk is portrayed as a man who treats women as replaceable and who has expressed a desire to have as many children as possible.
Justine Wilson, with whom Musk has six children, describes a dominant and belittling relationship. Meanwhile, St Clair claims that he spoke about creating a “legion” of children ahead of a civil conflict, presenting this as part of his personal fixations about the future and survival.
From business to politics, the film raises doubts about his influence
The documentary does not stop at his personal life. It also raises doubts about the way Musk, according to the film’s authors, inflated technological and business promises that affected the value of his companies and public perception.
The film mentions claims regarding Tesla’s self-driving car technology, the battery-swapping scheme and repeated projects for colonizing Mars. It says that some of these promises were used to fuel market enthusiasm, while concrete results remained far from what had been sold to the public.
Starlink, data and fears of unchecked power
A significant part of the film focuses on the power Musk exercises through technological infrastructure, especially the Starlink satellite network. According to the claims presented in the documentary, this control raises serious questions about the influence a single individual can have over communications and internet access on a global scale.
The film also raises doubts about his role during the period when he was part of the structure called DOGE, close to the Trump administration. Among the strongest accusations is the claim that data may have been collected on American citizens, with fears that this data could be used for political influence. These remain claims raised in the film and not facts publicly proven.
Family conflicts and agreements for silence
The film also deals extensively with Musk’s conflicts with former partners over child custody and post-separation relationships. One of the most exposed cases is that involving Ashley St Clair, who claims that after the birth of the child the relationship changed immediately and that she was offered a financial agreement with clauses that would restrict her from speaking publicly.
The documentary also describes tensions with singer Grimes regarding custody of their children, as well as Musk’s parallel family relationships with other women. These episodes are used by the film’s authors to build the image of a man who, in their view, exercises strong control not only in business, but also in the most intimate relationships.
A global figure under scrutiny, but without answers in the film
According to the documentary, Musk is today a person with unusual influence in the economy, technology, communications and politics, without having been elected by anyone. This is also the central axis of the alarm raised by the film: the concentration of power in the hands of a figure so wealthy and so unpredictable.
Musk, according to the report, refused to take part in the film and did not comment within it on the claims raised. This means the public is faced with a narrative built mainly from testimony, accusations and the interpretations of the authors and interviewees, without a direct confrontation with his version.
The weight of the documentary lies more in the questions it raises than in final verdicts. When it comes to a figure with such great influence over markets, technology and politics, such claims cannot pass as celebrity gossip.
They open a broader debate about the limits of private power, the lack of accountability and the risk that comes when a single person controls platforms, infrastructure and capital on a global scale.