Key Takeaways
- Justine Wilson Musk says Elon Musk declared “I am the alpha in this relationship” during their 2000 wedding dance and later subjected her to constant criticism and gaslighting.
- In Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk, Justine disputes Elon’s account of their infant son Nevada’s death and alleges he cut off their transgender daughter Vivian’s health insurance after she came out.
- Former partner Ashley St. Clair also claims Musk wanted “a legion of children before the civil war,” while Musk declined to participate and dismissed the nearly four-hour film as a “hit piece.”
Elon Musk reportedly used his first dance with his then-wife to establish who was in charge.
“I am the alpha in this relationship,” Musk allegedly told his first wife, Justine Wilson Musk, as the newlyweds danced at their 2000 wedding, according to her appearance in Alex Gibney’s new documentary Musk, which was viewed by People.
More than two decades later, Justine says the comment wasn't an isolated moment. She describes a marriage in which Musk regularly criticized her, made her feel insignificant, and spoke to her as though she worked for him.
“I learned the term ‘gaslighting’ through my relationship with Elon,” Justine says in the film. “He was constantly remarking on the ways he found me lacking.”
Justine's account is one of the more personal revelations in Gibney's nearly four-hour examination of the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire, which premiered Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival and hits theaters on October 16.
One disagreement involves an especially painful subject: the death of the couple's first child. Nevada died from sudden infant death syndrome at just 10 weeks old in 2002. Justine disputes a previous social-media claim from Musk that he held Nevada as the baby died. According to Justine, she was the parent holding their son.
The couple went on to have five more children: twins Griffin and Vivian, followed by triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian. Their marriage ended in 2008, but Justine says she later found herself caught in the middle of another rupture—this time between Musk and Vivian.
Vivian, who is transgender, has become one of her father's most outspoken critics. Musk has publicly said he effectively “lost” his daughter and blamed the “woke mind virus.” In the documentary, Justine offers a different view, alleging Musk cut off Vivian's health insurance after she came out and has “never tried to repair things” with her.
“It’s not in his nature,” Justine says.
Yet she claims Musk also told her to relay a message to Vivian: “I’ll always love her.”
Justine isn't the only former partner speaking in Musk. Ashley St. Clair, who shares son Romulus with Musk, claims he told her they needed “a legion of children before the civil war.” St. Clair also says she rejected an alleged $40 million non-disclosure agreement instead of staying silent.
That “legion” already includes 14 publicly known children with four women. Musk had six children with Justine, including Nevada; three with Grimes; four with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis; and Romulus with St. Clair.
The accounts give Gibney's documentary plenty of territory beyond Musk's companies, wealth and ambitions in artificial intelligence and space. The filmmaker said there was “a tremendous sense of fear of talking” among people he approached, including Musk's critics, colleagues and friends.
Musk himself declined to participate and previously dismissed the documentary as a “hit piece.”
