Elon Musk’s first wife, Justine Musk, says he declared himself the “alpha” in their marriage while they were still on the dance floor at their wedding.
Justine revisits their relationship in Alex Gibney’s new documentary Musk, describing a marriage in which she says Elon repeatedly criticized her and treated her more like an employee than a partner. “I learned the term ‘gaslighting’ through my relationship with Elon,” she said, according to PEOPLE.
She said he made her feel “insignificant” and was “constantly remarking on the ways he found me lacking.” Justine also recalled their first dance after marrying in 2000, when she says Elon told her, “I am the alpha in this relationship.”
The nearly four-hour documentary premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 8. Elon did not participate in the film despite Gibney’s efforts to interview him. Gibney told The Associated Press that he initially approached the project as an admirer and hoped Musk would agree to sit down with him.
Justine Says Elon Treated Her Like an Employee
Justine said the imbalance in their marriage went beyond the “alpha” comment. In the documentary, she describes Elon talking down to her and repeatedly pointing out ways he believed she fell short.
She has told parts of that story before. In a 2010 essay for Marie Claire, Justine wrote that Elon made the “alpha” remark during their wedding reception and that she initially shrugged it off. As their marriage continued, she said his judgment increasingly overruled hers.
“I am your wife, not your employee,” Justine recalled telling him repeatedly. According to her account, Elon would answer, “If you were my employee, I would fire you.”
The couple met while attending Queen’s University in Ontario and reconnected after graduation. They married in January 2000, not long after Musk’s first company, Zip2, had been sold and his wealth had increased dramatically.
Justine Disputed Elon’s Account of Their Son Nevada’s Death
Justine also discusses the death of their first child, Nevada Alexander Musk, who died from sudden infant death syndrome at 10 weeks old in 2002.
She disputed a previous account from Elon that he had held Nevada when the baby died. Justine said she was the parent holding their son after doctors removed him from life support.
That account also predates the documentary. In her 2010 Marie Claire essay, Justine wrote that Nevada stopped breathing during a nap and was resuscitated by paramedics but had been deprived of oxygen long enough to be brain dead. She said he remained on life support for three days before they made the decision to remove it, and she held him when he died.
Justine later gave birth to twins Griffin and Vivian in 2004 and triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian in 2006. She and Elon separated in 2008 after eight years of marriage.
Justine Also Spoke About Elon’s Relationship With Vivian
The documentary includes newer comments from Justine about their daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson and her estrangement from her father.
Justine alleged that Elon cut off Vivian’s health insurance after she came out as transgender and said he has “never tried to repair things” with her. She also said Elon once asked her to deliver a message to Vivian: “I’ll always love her.”
Elon has spoken very differently about their estrangement. He has publicly said he considers Vivian to have been lost to what he calls the “woke mind virus,” comments Vivian has disputed while criticizing her father’s descriptions of her childhood and their relationship.
PEOPLE said it contacted Elon following the documentary’s Venice premiere and had not received a response to Justine’s latest comments. Earlier this year, however, he publicly described his former wife as “an amazing woman.”
Elon Musk Has Attacked the Documentary
Musk criticized Gibney’s project long before seeing the finished film. After the documentary was announced in 2023, he called it a “hit piece” on X. Gibney responded, “How would you know?”
Gibney said he had wanted Musk to participate. “Ultimately he didn’t want to talk to me,” the filmmaker told the Associated Press at Venice. The documentary instead includes interviews with people from different parts of Musk’s life, including Justine, his father Errol Musk, Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard and Ashley St. Clair.
Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro has also threatened legal action over a separate section of the documentary involving St. Clair and statements about the 2024 presidential election. In a letter obtained by PEOPLE, Spiro objected to what he said was a false implication involving Musk’s Starlink satellite network and the election.
Musk is scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on October 16.