Meta and YouTube have reversed their initial decisions and will now accept advertising for director Alex Gibney’s documentary on Elon Musk, following reports that multiple social media platforms had rejected the promotional ads.
A report from The Hollywood Reporter on Friday indicated that TikTok, Meta, YouTube, and X had all declined to run paid advertisements for the trailer of the film titled “Musk.”
YouTube also provided an update on Saturday, stating that the trailer has always been available on their platform. They noted, “When submitted as an ad, it was temporarily restricted by our system. Following review, the ad has been cleared to run.”
The refusal from X was not unexpected given Musk’s ownership of the platform; he recently remarked that “Dogshit is worth more respect than Gibney” on social media.
Both Meta and TikTok initially rejected the advertisement on the grounds of it being “political content,” a category that these platforms have specific restrictions regarding. Meta had previously announced an end to accepting political ads in the European Union, while TikTok has stated that it does not run such ads at all. The classification of a documentary trailer as campaign advertising remains ambiguous, and the U.S. distributor for the film, Bleecker Street, has reportedly appealed the ad rejections.
Gibney, known for his critically acclaimed documentaries such as “Going Clear” and “The Inventor,” premiered “Musk” at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this month. The film has garnered almost unanimous positive reviews, currently holding a 100% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is scheduled to hit theaters in the United States on October 9.
Vulture’s Bilge Ebiri described the nearly four-hour documentary as an insightful examination of Musk’s technology career, his connections to President Donald Trump, and his personal life, featuring interviews with individuals such as ex-wife Justine Musk and former right-wing influencer Ashley St. Clair, who has since distanced herself from Musk.
Ebiri characterized the film as a “fascinating” character study that serves as both a revealing business narrative and a cautionary tale about the future.
Despite the film’s initial acclaim, The Hollywood Reporter also noted that Universal Pictures faced uncertainty regarding its international distribution commitments, reportedly due to fears of potential backlash from the Trump administration. Nevertheless, Universal has indicated it will release the documentary in theaters while determining its overall release strategy.
This post has been updated to include YouTube’s confirmation that the ad has been cleared.
