Two companies now say they will accept advertising 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 an article on Friday claiming that TikTok, Meta, YouTube and X had all refused to run paid ads promoting the “Musk” trailer.
However, when TechCrunch contacted Meta on Saturday, a spokesperson said: “This was an error and the ads are being restored.” » We have requested more details from Meta and will update this article if we receive a response.
YouTube also released an update on Saturday, noting that “the trailer has still been available on YouTube.” (Indeed, that’s how we were able to embed it at the end of this article.) The company added: “When it was submitted as an ad, it was temporarily restricted by our system. After review, the ad was allowed to run.”
X’s rejection is not surprising: Musk, owner of the social media platform, recently posted that “Dogshit is worth more respect than Gibney.”
But Meta, TikTok and YouTube reportedly rejected advertising for “political content,” on which the platforms apply various restrictions. (Meta said last year that it would stop accepting political ads in the European Union, while TikTok says it doesn’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 that it has appealed the refusals.
Gibney has directed acclaimed 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 film, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this month to almost universally positive reviews. The film is currently rated 100% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes and is scheduled for theatrical release in the United States on October 9.
Bilge Ebiri of Vulture described the nearly four-hour documentary as an eye-opening look at Musk’s tech career, his alliance with President Donald Trump and his personal life, with interview subjects including his ex-wife Justine Musk and former right-wing influencer Ashley St. Clair (who recently had a child with Musk but now describes him as “a nuclear weapon”).
Ebiri wrote that while the film is a “fascinating” character study, he added: “As an account of the modern business world, it is revealing. And as a warning about our future, it is terrifying.”
Despite the initial wave of rave reviews, The Hollywood Reporter also said that Universal Pictures was hesitant in its commitment to distribute the film internationally, apparently due to the studio’s fear of angering the Trump administration. (Universal later announced it would release the documentary theatrically but is still determining its release strategy).
TechCrunch has also contacted TikTok, X and Bleecker Street for comment.
This post has been updated to include YouTube’s statement that it removed the ad.
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