“Musk's Money Didn't Help”: Robert De Niro Mocks Billionaire at Screening of Documentary About Him

It has been a difficult week for Elon Musk. He spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the US midterm elections, but the Republican candidates he backed suffered defeats. And now the billionaire has come under fire from Hollywood actor Robert De Niro.

The Oscar-winning actor joined Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, in New York to present Musk, a documentary directed by Alex Gibney that takes a critical look at the life and career of the world's richest man, Deadline reports.

During his introduction, De Niro did not miss the opportunity to take a swipe at Musk over his political spending.

“In 2024, Elon Musk spent about $300 million helping Trump get elected. And last week, he poured nearly half a billion dollars into supporting Republicans. How did that work out for you?” the actor asked. His remarks were met with applause and laughter.

De Niro also pointed to another setback for Musk: the announcement that Tesla would stop producing its much-hyped Cybertruck electric pickup next summer.

“In the fight between Musk's money and democracy, democracy won. This time. But just like his grotesque Cybertruck, Musk isn't going anywhere,” the actor declared.

He urged the audience not to simply celebrate the election results, but to remain vigilant and ready to take action.

“This is an important film. I hope it affects you as much as it affected me, and that you tell others about it,” De Niro added.

Director Alex Gibney, in turn, thanked the actor for his support, describing him as one of the people who had done a great deal to stand up to the forces they were confronting.

Jane Rosenthal admitted that she had initially hesitated over whether to watch the nearly four-hour film.

“Four hours, Alex, seriously? Four hours in the company of Elon Musk is a lot to ask. But it turned out to be an incredibly compelling portrait of a truly despicable character we cannot afford to ignore,” she joked.

Rosenthal also invoked the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, who argued some 2,500 years ago that one must know one's enemy.

“Musk reveals the person behind the name, and we simply cannot look away,” she emphasized.

The documentary runs for 3 hours and 52 minutes and has grossed more than $700,000 at the US box office.

On Sunday, the film also won the Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Biographical Documentary. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival before screening at festivals in Toronto, Zurich, London and other cities.