Elon Musk's First Wife Opens Up in New Documentary: 'I Learned the Term Gaslighting’
Justine Musk has rarely spoken publicly about her marriage to Elon Musk in any real detail. That changed Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival.
The first wife of the world's richest man gave an extensive interview for Musk, a new four-hour documentary directed by Alex Gibney that premiered at Venice on September 8 and hits theaters October 16. Elon Musk himself declined to participate — he called it "a hit piece" back in 2023. Gibney's response at the time: "How would you know?"
Justine and Elon married in 2000 and had six children together before separating in 2008. Her appearance in the film is one of the most substantive accounts she's given of their relationship, and she doesn't hold much back.
What She Said
The gaslighting comment is the one generating the most attention. "I learned the term 'gaslighting' through my relationship with Elon," Justine said, describing how he made her feel "insignificant" and talked down to her as though she were one of his employees. "He was constantly remarking on the ways he found me lacking."
She recalled their first dance at their wedding — a moment most people remember as one of the happiest of their lives. Musk allegedly used it to establish a power dynamic. "I am the alpha in this relationship," he told her as they danced.
Justine also addressed the death of their first child, Nevada, who died of sudden infant death syndrome at 10 weeks old. She pushed back on a social media post in which Elon claimed he was holding Nevada when he died. She says she was the one holding the baby.
On their transgender daughter Vivian — who publicly cut ties with her father in 2022 and legally changed her name — Justine said Elon cut off Vivian's health insurance when she came out as trans and has "never tried to repair things" with her. "It's not in his nature," Justine said. She also alleged that Elon asked her to relay a message to Vivian: "I'll always love her." Elon had previously described losing Vivian to "the woke mind virus."
Who Else Is In the Film
Beyond Justine, Gibney interviewed Elon's father Errol Musk, ex Ashley St. Clair, and Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard — the man Musk pushed out of the company he helped start. The documentary's teaser describes its subject as "possibly the greatest living inventor" and "a man who has lost his mind" — Gibney's characteristic approach of letting the subject define themselves through contradictions.
Despite the film's pointed framing, Elon appeared to hold no personal grudge toward Justine specifically. In January he posted on X calling her "an amazing woman."
The Filmmaker Behind It
Gibney isn't making his first film about a powerful and controversial figure. He directed Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side about torture in the war on terror, and The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley about Elizabeth Holmes. Each film found a subject whose public persona diverged dramatically from private reality. Musk appears to be his most ambitious subject yet — and the most powerful one who has tried to preemptively dismiss the project before seeing it.
The documentary opens in theaters October 16.
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