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Media86 outlets ran this3 min read

David Byrne Song Features Elon Musk Quotes in New Documentary

Alex Gibney's film 'Musk' includes a track with lyrics solely from the billionaire's statements.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

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David Byrne Song Features Elon Musk Quotes in New Documentary

What this story says

  • David Byrne wrote and performed an original song, 'Let Me Sell You a Dream,' for Alex Gibney's documentary 'Musk.'
  • The song's lyrics are entirely composed of Elon Musk's own quotes, as confirmed by Byrne and the film's director.
  • The documentary 'Musk' is 235 minutes long and will be released in U.S. theaters on October 16.
  • Elon Musk has described the film as a 'hit piece,' and the documentary alleges his involvement in the 2024 U.S. election with unusual certainty about the outcome.

Who covered it

Left 52%(27)Centre 36%(19)Right 12%(6)

Percentages are shares of the 52 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 34 of the 86 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

61/100

Hype

41/100

86 sources · methodology

Missing from the right

Only 6 of the 52 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

A reader who follows the right would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

David Byrne has created an original song for Alex Gibney's forthcoming documentary about Elon Musk. Titled 'Let Me Sell You a Dream,' the track features lyrics made up entirely of statements made by Musk. Byrne collaborated with composer Daniel Pemberton on the song.

The documentary, also titled 'Musk,' runs for 235 minutes and is scheduled for release in U.S. cinemas on October 16. Director Alex Gibney described the film as a 'definitive and unvarnished examination' of the billionaire. Elon Musk himself has called the film a 'hit piece.'

The film also makes allegations regarding Musk's involvement in the 2024 U.S. election. One claim, reported by The Daily Beast and Joe.My.God., is that Musk displayed unusual certainty about the election's outcome before results were known. This allegation comes from Ashley St. Clair, identified as the mother of one of Musk's children.

Disagreement on Election Involvement

The Daily Beast and Joe.My.God. report that the documentary alleges Elon Musk showed unusual certainty about the 2024 U.S. election outcome before results were known, citing Ashley St. Clair. Public.news reports that the documentary promotes a conspiracy theory that Musk used 'space lasers' to rig the election for Trump, a claim dismissed by election officials and fact-checkers. Twitchy states the documentary targets Musk with biased claims, and that family and fans are pushing back.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated reports mention the song 'Let Me Sell You a Dream' by David Byrne or its lyrics. None of the centre-rated reports mention the specific allegations of Elon Musk's involvement in the 2024 U.S. election, such as his alleged unusual certainty about the outcome before results were known.

Tags:#ElonMusk#DavidByrne#AlexGibney#MuskDocumentary#Film#Music

Coverage settled. We checked this 59 times and stopped on 11 Sept 2026, 11:00. The figures above are what it finished at.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Gregg Segal
VarietyLeft

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

27 rated outlets

  • Several left-rated outlets reported on Alex Gibney's documentary about Elon Musk. Many highlighted the film's focus on Musk's political influence and alleged involvement in the 2024 US election. Some reports mentioned that Musk himself had called the project a "hit-piece" and had not agreed to be interviewed.
  • The song "Let Me Sell You a Dream," written by David Byrne and Daniel Pemberton for the documentary, was also a point of emphasis. Variety reported that Byrne used Musk's own quotes for the lyrics. The song is an Oscar-qualifying entry.
  • Other details mentioned across these reports included the film's length, its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and director Gibney's changing perception of Musk from admirer to critic. Some outlets described the documentary as "scathing" or an "unvarnished examination."

Centre

19 rated outlets

  • All six centre-rated reports highlighted David Byrne's song 'Let Me Sell You a Dream' for the documentary 'Musk.' NME and Variety provided details about the song's lyrics, which are composed entirely of Elon Musk's quotes, and its potential Oscar eligibility. Benzinga and Far Out Magazine also mentioned the song. Wonderwall.com reported that journalist David Sirota said Musk is 'freaking out' over the documentary, while Consequence.net noted Byrne used Musk's own words for the Oscar-qualifying song.

Right

6 rated outlets

  • The two right-rated reports focused on criticism of the documentary. Public.news stated the film promotes a conspiracy theory about Elon Musk using 'space lasers' to rig the election for Trump, a claim dismissed by fact-checkers. Twitchy described the documentary as targeting Musk with biased claims and noted pushback from his family and fans.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover David Byrne Song Features Elon Musk Quotes in New Documentary?
Of the 52 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 52% are rated left, 36% are rated centre, 12% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 86. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is David Byrne Song Features Elon Musk Quotes in New Documentary left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 52 rated outlets on this story, 52% are rated left, 36% are rated centre, 12% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of David Byrne Song Features Elon Musk Quotes in New Documentary biased?
David Byrne Song Features Elon Musk Quotes in New Documentary is one event reported by 86 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting David Byrne Song Features Elon Musk Quotes in New Documentary?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered David Byrne Song Features Elon Musk Quotes in New Documentary?
86 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What is the documentary about Elon Musk called?
The documentary about Elon Musk is titled 'Musk.' It is directed by Alex Gibney and runs for 235 minutes. It is set to be released in U.S. theaters on October 16.
Who wrote the song for the documentary and what is it called?
David Byrne wrote and performed an original song titled 'Let Me Sell You a Dream' for the documentary 'Musk.' The lyrics of the song are entirely composed of Elon Musk's own quotes.
What allegations does the documentary make about Elon Musk?
The documentary alleges Elon Musk was involved in the 2024 U.S. election and had unusual certainty about the outcome before it was known. Elon Musk himself has described the film as a 'hit piece.'

Read it at the source

86 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

27
Show 19 more

Centre

19
Show 11 more

Right

6

Not rated

34
Show 26 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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