Alex Gibney's documentary Musk — running 232 minutes, just shy of four hours — is set to premiere at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, which runs September 2 through 12, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bleecker Street will release the film theatrically on October 16, 2026, with HBO Documentary Films holding North American streaming rights and Black Bear managing international sales.
The project was initially delivered in early 2025. Gibney returned to the editing suite as events continued to develop around its subject: SpaceX's record $75 billion IPO, Musk's administrative role overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, and his vocal support of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera offered a dry acknowledgment of the runtime: "I invite you to look at the duration of the movie — four hours." He described the film as tracing "the whole career — the contradictions, and the conditioning power that is centralized in the hands of a single man."
Musk publicly labeled the documentary "a hit piece" before seeing it. Gibney's response was brief: "How would you know?"
The Venice slot, combined with a Bleecker Street theatrical run in October, positions Musk as one of the more ambitious entries in this fall's awards circuit. The film was produced by Gibney's Jigsaw Productions alongside Zhang Xin's Closer Media, Double Agent, and Anonymous Content.