"Free speech absolutist" Elon Musk threatens legal action over unflattering documentary

According to THR, Spiro claims that Musk insinuates that the tech mogul used his Starlink satellites to influence the 2024 election in favor of Musk’s frenemy Donald Trump. Ashley St. Clair—who has previously spoken about her participation in the doc—claims in the film, per THR, that Musk said he was going to “unleash the anomaly in the matrix,” via his “10,000 lasers in space,” which, well, does sound like something we’d expect him to say based on his posting. 

But Spiro is adamant. “Starlink was not connected to vote tabulation. Election officials in multiple states, independent cybersecurity researchers, and fact-checkers publicly refuted the Starlink vote-rigging claim in November 2024, and nothing since has revived it,” reads part of his letter. “Defamation does not require an express accusation.” Elsewhere, the letter says, “You are on notice, before release, that the insinuation is false, that the material refuting it is public, and that you chose not to be told the rest.” Spiro also alleges that Jigsaw Productions “refused to engage” with Musk’s team in fact checking the doc. 

Jigsaw Productions responded, in part, that “Gibney’s films are consistently recognized for their in-depth, fact-driven explorations of influential figures and corporations, coupled with his bold and engaging directorial style.” Hey, if Musk can’t get a film he hasn’t yet seen pulled from theaters, he can always take a page from Chris Hansen’s playbook and talk endlessly about it.