Elon Musk Called This Four-Hour Documentary a 'Hit Piece' - Now It's Heading to HBO Amid $110B Takeover

Alex Gibney's film Musk premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 8 September. The film runs for nearly four hours in its theatrical version and has a US release scheduled for 16 October. HBO Documentary Films acquired the film's North American streaming and television rights in 2023. Warner Bros. Discovery owns HBO.

Warner Bros. Discovery agreed in February to sell the company to Paramount Skydance in a deal that values WBD at about $110 billion in enterprise value. The Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners back $47 billion in new Paramount equity, while Larry Ellison committed $1 billion to Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter takeover in 2022.

The cinema release follows separate distribution agreements. Bleecker Street will distribute the film theatrically in the United States, while Universal Pictures Content Group holds its international distribution rights. Neither company forms part of the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery sale. Bleecker Street's US theatrical release remains scheduled for 16 October.

What the Takeover Would Hand Over

HBO Documentary Films acquired the North American streaming and television rights before the film finished. Bleecker Street later acquired the US theatrical rights, while Universal Pictures Content Group took the international distribution rights. A longer version of the film is expected to appear on HBO Max in 2027, although HBO has not announced a specific date.

The film takes a strongly critical view of Elon Musk. Musk declined to participate, so Gibney used an AI-generated avatar and AI-generated speech based on Musk's past statements. Gibney has described the film as an examination of Musk's influence and has made critical comments about the businessman's impact on democracy.

A Court Has Frozen the Sale Until March

California and 11 other states sued to block the merger in July. A federal judge temporarily barred the companies from closing the deal on 20 July, and the parties later agreed not to complete it until five days after a merits ruling or 1 June 2027, whichever comes first. The court has scheduled a 12-day trial from 2 to 19 March 2027 for the states' case and a separate Writers Guild of America lawsuit.

In June, the US Justice Department closed its antitrust investigation after finding that the merger was unlikely to harm competition or consumers. The lawsuits remain a major obstacle, while WBD shareholders will receive additional consideration of $0.00277778 per share for each calendar day after 30 September until the merger closes, capped at $0.25 per 90-day period.

What the Ellison Money Buys

Paramount plans to fund the transaction with $47 billion in new equity backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners, while its latest filings show $54 billion in total debt commitments, including a $49 billion bridge facility. Paramount will pay WBD shareholders $31 in cash for each share. Larry Ellison and an affiliated trust jointly and severally guarantee certain payments under the merger agreement, including $45.72 billion of the merger consideration.

The film includes interviews with people who know Musk personally or professionally, including his father, Errol Musk, and his first wife, Justine Musk. Ashley St. Clair, who has a child with Musk, also appears alongside journalist Zoë Schiffer. At a Venice press conference, St. Clair said she rejected an alleged $40 million offer linked to a non-disclosure agreement.

Why Bury Is the Wrong Word

Elon Musk called the project a 'hit piece' in March 2023, before the public had seen the film. No public evidence has emerged that Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery or the Ellison family has tried to block its release. That does not rule out private discussions or efforts that have not entered the public record.

Publicly available information shows that WBD's connection to the film centres on the North American streaming and television rights HBO Documentary Films acquired. Bleecker Street handles the US theatrical release, while Universal Pictures Content Group holds the international distribution rights. Those separate agreements mean a future WBD owner would not directly control the film's US theatrical or international distribution.

Timing will determine who owns HBO when the longer version reaches the service. If the merger closes after that release, the ownership change would come later. If Paramount completes the acquisition first, it would control WBD and HBO, while the film would remain subject to its existing distribution agreements.