Alex Gibney Unveils 48-Second 'Musk' Teaser Ahead of Sept. 8 Venice Premiere

Q: How will Musk’s own public quotes be weaponized against him in David Byrne’s original song for the film?

Byrne appears to be weaponizing Musk’s public record by turning Musk’s own quotes into the song’s lyrics, leaving little room for Musk to dismiss the critique as invented or unfairly paraphrased. Reporting around the film says “Let Me Sell You a Dream,” co-written by Byrne and composer Daniel Pemberton, is built entirely from Musk’s public statements. Byrne told Variety that the lyrics are “all his own words. No editorializing. Straight from the man’s mouth to mine,” adding that he asked for “good quotes” and found more online. In other words, the song’s attack is not based on commentary about Musk, but on Musk speaking for himself. That method matters because it lets the film frame Musk’s language as evidence. Alex Gibney said Byrne “dug deep into the sayings of Musk himself” to create “foot-tapping sardonic poetry,” suggesting the quotes will be arranged to highlight contradiction, grandiosity, salesmanship and volatility. Even the title, “Let Me Sell You a Dream,” signals a focus on Musk’s talent for making sweeping promises and persuasive public claims. The exact lyrics have not been released yet, so it is not possible to say which specific lines will be used beyond Byrne’s description. But the clear approach is that Musk’s own words will be repurposed in a sardonic musical context, effectively turning his public persona and statements into the critique itself.

3 articles · Updated · Variety · Sep 7

A 48-second first teaser for Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk documentary “Musk” has been released a day before its Sept. 8 world premiere at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
The clip offers little plot detail but frames Musk as deeply divisive, pairing spacecraft imagery with praise such as “real-life Iron Man” before shifting to accusations that he is “cruel,” “selfish” and “a fascist.”
The nearly 4-hour film will screen out of competition in Venice before heading to the Toronto International Film Festival, and includes an original song by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, “Let Me Sell You a Dream.”
Gibney said in March 2023 he was already months into production; Musk then dismissed the project on X as a likely “hit piece,” prompting the director to publicly challenge that claim.