Two companies now say they are accepting ads for director Alex Gibney’s upcoming documentary about Elon Musk, following earlier reports that a number of social media platforms had rejected the ads.
The Hollywood Reporter published a story on Friday saying that TikTok, Meta, YouTube, and X have all declined to run paid ads to promote the trailer for “Musk.”
However, when TechCrunch reached out to Meta on Saturday, a spokesperson said, “This was an error and the ads are being restored.” We’ve asked Meta for more details and will update this article when we hear back.
YouTube also posted an update Saturday, noting that “the trailer has always been available on YouTube.” (In fact, that’s how we were able to embed it at the bottom of this article.) The company added: “When submitted as an ad, it was temporarily restricted by our system. After review, the ad was removed from running.”
X’s disapproval isn’t surprising — Musk, who owns the social media platform, recently posted that “dogshit is worth more respect than Gibney.”
But Meta, TikTok, and YouTube rejected the ad for “political content,” on which the platforms have different restrictions. (Meta said last year it would stop accepting political ads in the European Union, while TikTok says it won’t run them at all.) It’s unclear how a documentary trailer counts as a campaign ad, and the film’s U.S. distributor Bleecker Street told The Hollywood Reporter it has appealed the rejections.
Gibney directed well-known documentaries including “Going Clear” (about the Church of Scientology) and “The Inventor” (about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos), as well as a film about Steve Jobs. “Musk,” his latest, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this month to almost universally positive reviews. The film currently has a 100% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is set for theatrical release in the US on October 9th.
Vulture’s Bilge Ebiri described the nearly four-hour documentary as a revealing look at Musk’s tech career, his alliance with President Donald Trump, and his personal life, with interview subjects including ex-wife Justine Musk and former right-wing influencer Ashley St.
Ebiri wrote that while the film is a “fascinating” character study, he added: “As a story of modern business, it is revealing. And as a warning about our future, it is terrifying.”
Despite the initial wave of critical acclaim, The Hollywood Reporter also said that Universal Pictures is wavering in its commitment to distribute the film internationally, reportedly due to the studio’s fear of angering the Trump administration. (Universal subsequently said it would release the documentary in theaters, but is still figuring out its release strategy).
TechCrunch has also reached out to TikTok, X, and Bleecker Street for comment.
This post has been updated to include YouTube’s statement that it has removed the ad.
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