Universal Is Getting Cold Feet on Releasing the Elon Musk Documentary

When Musk premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, it received the kind of response every international distributor dreams of. The audience applauded for five minutes, saluting director Alex Gibney, with someone in the Sala Grande even shouting "Grazie" for his searing investigation of the world's richest man.

And yet, despite what amounted to an instantly reassuring focus group, Universal Pictures — which controls the film's global rights outside North America — now appears to be having second thoughts about the documentary it paid millions to acquire. According to two sources not authorized to speak publicly, Universal has not dated the film, has not meaningfully communicated with the filmmaking team about release plans, and is broadly rethinking a project that was once enthusiastically embraced but has now become politically sensitive to some in the Trump administration.

From Enthusiasm to Second Thoughts

Universal bought Musk three years ago, before the political winds shifted and Musk formally aligned himself with Trump. While no final decision has been made and multiple outcomes remain possible, the sources believe Universal will ultimately decide not to release the film and will return the rights to the filmmakers.

If Universal opts out, it would be required to pay a "kill fee" under the terms of the deal. The filmmakers could then sell the film again, essentially profiting twice from the same rights sale.

A Universal representative declined to comment when asked about the film's release plans.

Political Pressure and the FCC's Shadow

The potential retreat comes amid heightened scrutiny of media companies bowing to various forms of political pressure. Musk alleges that its subject may have weaponized data collected during his time at DOGE to use against Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections. In the film, Nobel laureate and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton says on camera: "If you wanted to corrupt those midterm elections and you wanted to use AI, all you needed to do was get detailed information on U.S. citizens. And what DOGE did looked like just what you would do."

Meanwhile, Musk enjoys a strong relationship with FCC chairman Brendan Carr, who defended Musk when the Biden administration investigated him and reportedly helped facilitate regulatory approval for Starlink. One FCC source who worked closely with Carr said he privately holds the mogul "in awe." Carr's FCC is currently investigating Comcast's DEI practices. Antagonizing Carr could invite further legal and regulatory headaches for Comcast, led by Brian Roberts.

Musk's Attacks and Legal Threats

Musk himself has made his contempt for the documentary abundantly clear, repeatedly calling it a "hit piece" and "boring" — though there is no evidence he has seen it. His attorney, Alex Spiro, sent a letter to Gibney's Jigsaw Productions putting the company on "formal notice" that litigation "can reasonably be expected."

Following the Venice premiere, Musk fired off a series of posts on X attacking Gibney as a "resentful old man" with "zero integrity," calling the nearly four-hour film "excruciatingly boring."

The Release Is Not Entirely Dead

It's worth noting that American audiences will still see the film. Independent distributor Bleecker Street controls U.S. theatrical rights and is moving forward with an October 9 release in New York and Los Angeles, expanding the following week. HBO holds U.S. television and streaming rights, with a 2027 debut planned. The film will also screen at the London Film Festival next month.

But a Universal exit would send an unsettling signal: that a major global media company decided releasing a critical documentary about the world's richest man had suddenly become more trouble than it was worth — after Musk publicly attacked the film and threatened legal action.