The TikTok account for Bleecker Street’s documentary “Musk” has been “permanently suspended” just as the film was set to expand nationwide this weekend, representatives for the independent distributor told TheWrap.
According to the representatives, Bleecker Street was notified by TikTok on Friday afternoon that the suspension was forthcoming, and the account was subsequently removed from the platform.
The suspension comes as several major platforms have refused to promote director Alex Gibney’s four-hour documentary about Elon Musk’s life and rise to power, including Musk-owned X, where Musk himself has attacked the film. YouTube and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, previously refused to run ads for “Musk” but reversed course after public pressure.
TikTok claims that the “Musk” account, which had amassed more than 10,000 followers before its removal, violated the platform’s rules on political content, though the company did not specify which rules were violated or how the account had breached them.
Running 235 minutes, including an intermission, “Musk” delves into Musk’s personal life and rise to financial and political power, including his time in the Trump administration, when he oversaw sweeping cuts to the federal workforce and foreign aid spending. The film also features interviews with Musk’s former romantic partners and wives, including Ashley St. Clair, who describes the world’s richest man as a “nuke.”
While TikTok is not owned by Musk, it is linked to fellow billionaire and Trump ally Larry Ellison through Oracle’s involvement with the platform. Ellison is mentioned in the documentary in a text message offering to help Musk finance his acquisition of X. HBO, which financed “Musk” and is slated to distribute the film on home platforms, is now part of Skydance, following its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, led by Ellison’s son David.
According to industry box-office estimates, “Musk” is struggling in its nationwide expansion after earning about $70,000 during a four-theater platform release last weekend in New York and Los Angeles. The film is projected to gross an estimated $297,000 this weekend across 472 theaters, averaging $629 per theater.
