Elon Musk’s First Wife Says She Learned the Term ‘Gaslighting’ from Their Marriage

Justine Musk is speaking out. The author and first wife of Elon Musk appears in Alex Gibney’s new documentary Musk, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 8. In the four-hour film, she reveals that she learned the term “gaslighting” through her relationship with the world’s richest man.

The Canadian author, who was married to Musk from 2000 to 2008, recounts a marriage she says left her feeling “insignificant.” She claims Musk frequently talked down to her as though she were one of his employees, and “was constantly remarking on the ways he found me lacking”.

One of the most striking revelations involves their wedding night. Justine says that during their first dance as a married couple, Elon whispered in her ear: “I am the alpha in this relationship”. The comment, she says, set the tone for an eight-year marriage marked by a profound power imbalance.

The documentary also touches on the couple’s first child, Nevada, who died of sudden infant death syndrome at just 10 weeks old. Justine disputes a claim Elon made in a 2022 social media post that he held their son as he died. She says it was she who held Nevada. The couple went on to have five more children together, including twins and triplets, before their divorce in 2008.

Justine also speaks about their transgender daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson. She claims Elon cut off Vivian’s health insurance after she came out as trans and that he has never tried to repair things with her . “It’s not in his nature,” Justine said, though she also claims Elon told her to convey to Vivian that he would “always love her”.

Elon Musk did not participate in Gibney’s documentary and has called it a “hit piece that misses” and a “boring” production. However, he has praised Justine publicly, calling her “an amazing woman” in a January social media post. The documentary hits theaters on October 16.