TikTok permanently suspended the “Musk” ad account on Friday ahead of the documentary’s wide release, Variety can confirm.
Directed by Alex Gibney, “Musk” seeks to make sense of Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, and the outsized influence he has on the world, diving deep into his shift to MAGA supporter, controversies surrounding his Occupy Mars mission and Tesla’s self-driving cars and his contentious relationships with several of the mothers of his 14 children.
The documentary opened in a limited release in New York and Los Angeles on Oct. 9, grossing $68,900 from four locations (an average of $17,225 per screen) before expanding to 472 North American theaters on Friday. The documentary made about $120,000 on Friday and is expected to reach $385,000 by Sunday, per estimates from rival studios.
Reps for TikTok did not immediately reply to Variety‘s requests for comment.
Even beyond the film’s account suspension on TikTok, the 3-hour-and-45-minute has already faced it’s fair share of controversy ahead of its release. In an interview with The New York Times, Gibney confirmed that Universal Pictures wavered in planning the doc’s overseas release. When questioned about what happened, Gibney responded: “Were they concerned that in this political environment, a film about the world’s richest man was problematic? Maybe, but you have to ask them.” (Legal threats from the SpaceX founder initially raised audience concerns about an international release.)
Ahead of the film’s release, Musk called it a “hit piece” and said “dogshit is worth more respect.” He added that Gibney “has ZERO integrity” and is a “horrible human.”
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the news.