A four-hour documentary about Elon Musk continues to meet resistance from social media platforms, with TikTok apparently banning the film’s advertising account — though the company said Sunday that the account had been “restored after an error.”
According to a story in The Hollywood Reporter, the documentary’s distributor Bleecker Street was recently notified by TikTok that the account had received a “permanent suspension” due to its political content.
Ads promoting the trailer for “Musk” — directed by Oscar-winner filmmaker Alex Gibney — were initially rejected by Meta and YouTube as well, though those platforms eventually allowed the ad, with Meta blaming the rejection on “an error.” Gibney recently confirmed that the film’s international distributor Universal had wavered in its plans to release “Musk,” though it’s now moving forward.
X, which Musk owns, has refused to carry ads for “Musk.” TikTok’s U.S. operations are partly owned by Larry Ellison — who, like Musk, has been a notable supporter of President Donald Trump.
“Musk” opened in just four theaters last weekend and is now rolling out more broadly. Next year, it’s supposed to stream on HBO — now part of Paramount/Skydance and led by Ellison’s son David.
This article was originally published on Saturday, October 17. It has been updated to reflect TikTok’s statement that the “Musk” advertising account has been restored.
