Elon Musk has committed $360m to a last-ditch effort to help Republicans retain control of Congress in next month’s US midterm elections, adding a record-setting contribution to a campaign that has raised fresh concerns about the political influence of the world’s richest man. The spending comes after Musk gave $290m to help Donald Trump win the presidency in 2024 and as his expanding role in American politics faces renewed scrutiny over government oversight, corporate interests and control of critical communications technology.
The donations and a controversy over the restriction of satellite communications in Ukraine have become central examples of the power examined in Musk, a four-hour documentary by the filmmaker Alex Gibney. Speaking to Observer UK, Gibney described the alliance between Musk and Trump as an expression of “21st-century power”, arguing that a small number of exceptionally wealthy individuals are increasingly able to shape political decisions and public institutions.
“They’re increasingly defining our futures, and that’s terrifying,” Gibney said of the relationship between the technology entrepreneur and the US president.
Musk’s latest contribution, directed towards a political action committee supporting Republican Senate candidates, is the largest donation of its kind in a midterm election cycle. The Republicans face the possibility of substantial losses at the polls, and the financial intervention comes as Musk has a personal interest in the outcome of the congressional elections, according to Gibney. He believes a Democratic victory could expose Musk’s activities in government to investigation.
“I think that’s the dominant reason why Musk hitched his wagon to Trump’s in the first place,” Gibney said. Although Musk has repeatedly invoked his opposition to what he calls the “woke-mind virus”, the director questioned how much ideology drives his political involvement. “I’m not sure how much ideology Musk contains,” he said. “I don’t think he wants investigations into him or his businesses.”
Gibney’s assessment is closely linked to Musk’s work leading the Department of Government Efficiency, known as Doge, after Trump returned to the White House. Musk and a team of young technology specialists moved through federal agencies, gaining access to private data belonging to millions of Americans and overseeing the closure of entire government bodies. Gibney argues that the initiative was not simply an attempt to reduce waste and fraud, but also an opportunity to weaken institutions capable of investigating Musk’s companies.
Among the agencies affected was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which had the power to investigate Tesla over safety claims involving its self-driving vehicles following a number of fatal crashes. Gibney said Musk had “great opportunities at many of these federal agencies to eliminate, forestall or undermine civil investigations into his companies”.
The documentary’s examination of Musk’s influence has coincided with controversy over StarShield, the military-grade version of his Starlink satellite system, which is critical to Ukrainian battlefield communications and drone operations. The service was restricted without warning, prompting accusations that Musk had intervened in the war. Reports suggested that the order originated within the White House as Trump pressured Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, which he blamed for rising energy prices that have damaged Republican electoral prospects.
Musk distanced himself from the restriction, posting on social media that Trump was ultimately responsible for the slowdown. Connection speeds were later restored following an international outcry. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, called the incident “a big mistake” and warned that “people will die”.
Gibney said the episode illustrated the unusual relationship between Musk’s private control of essential technology and Trump’s political authority. “There’s seemingly no way for us to find out what happened except to note that one man has extraordinary power because he’s the one collecting low-orbit satellites and there’s no other alternative,” he said.
“When Musk does something Trump doesn’t like, he can shrug his shoulders. He lets him do outrageous things. When he causes a political problem he can say, ‘I don’t control him’.”
The film traces Musk’s rise from technology entrepreneur to a central figure in the Trump administration. A two-hour version was ready for release in early 2024, before Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally that summer. Musk subsequently posted: “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.” Gibney was instructed by HBO to continue following the story. Trump’s subsequent election victory brought Musk into the president’s inner circle and gave him an influential role in the federal government.
Gibney, whose previous films include Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015) and the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side (2007), said he sought to challenge the image Musk has cultivated of himself as an exceptional engineer and entrepreneur. He acknowledged SpaceX’s achievements in rocket development but argued that Musk’s personal confidence has helped persuade investors and the public to believe claims that sometimes exceed what he can deliver.
“He’s a brilliant confidence man who through the power of his confidence [can] either lie or bullshit us into thinking he can do things he really can’t,” Gibney said. Comparing Musk with Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos who was the subject of his 2019 documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, he argued that the ability to persuade people to believe extraordinary claims had contributed significantly to Musk’s wealth.
Musk declined to appear in the documentary. Instead, Gibney uses an artificial intelligence-generated impression of the entrepreneur, wearing a leather jacket, to voice interviews Musk has given. The filmmaker said Musk responded immediately when approached about the project, posting on X: “Gibney is a douche.” Gibney replied: “Douche.”
The documentary also faced obstacles before securing international distribution. Reports said Universal, part of the US media group Comcast, had become hesitant following legal threats. Musk’s lawyers have scrutinised the film, while the entrepreneur has continued to attack Gibney publicly, accusing him of fabricating a false account and describing the documentary as a “hit piece”.
Gibney rejects the suggestion that the film was conceived as an intervention in electoral politics. “There wasn’t one when I started and there isn’t one now, except that the film is critical of the amount of power that he has accreted,” he said. “Of course, that power is connected to political figures.”
