Oct 14, 2026 · 29 min
Musk’s companies turn private power into geopolitical leverage
"Musk" Filmmaker Alex Gibney on Why Elon Musk Fears Democrats Will Win Midterms
The conversation examines how one entrepreneur’s control of communications, artificial intelligence, social media, and space technology has become a political and geopolitical force.
- 1Musk’s political spending and corporate reach have exposed how private wealth can reshape public power.
- 2His warnings about artificial intelligence conflict with the aggressive deployment and troubling outputs of Grok and xAI.
- 3Starlink’s role in Ukraine shows how a private communications network can influence military decisions and international affairs.
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Gibney highlights archival footage in which Musk struggles to explain his desire for globe-spanning power through Starlink, SpaceX, xAI, and X.
The brief
Amy Goodman speaks with filmmaker Alex Gibney about Elon Musk’s expanding political power, from vast campaign spending to a Pentagon warfare project tied to his companies.
Gibney traces a central contradiction: Musk warns that artificial intelligence could threaten humanity while pushing Grok and xAI into increasingly influential public and government roles.
The conversation moves from investigations, drug-use reports, and Musk’s turn toward MAGA politics to the family and ideological conflicts surrounding his transformation.
Starlink becomes the clearest test of Musk’s geopolitical reach: its service aided Ukraine, yet restrictions during military operations gave one private actor unusual leverage.
Gibney says the documentary’s most revealing archival footage captures Musk struggling to explain why he wants such sweeping power through Starlink, SpaceX, xAI, and X.