TikTok 'permanently suspends' ad for controversial Musk documentary
TikTok, now controlled by Larry Ellison, has banned an account promoting adverts on the social media platform for 'Musk', a critical documentary of the world's richest man, after concerns over its 'political content'.
Directed by Alex Gibney, the 2026 documentary focuses on Elon Musk's ongoing business activities and his growing influence on both American and global politics, including testimonies from journalists, engineers, and even the billionaire's former romantic partners.
One section of the film focused on his short-term relationship with Ashley St. Clair which produced his 13th child, and she divulged concerning accusations surrounding Musk's involvement in the last presidential election.
That seemingly hasn't landed well with the leading figures at TikTok, which notably include Larry Ellison, a close ally and active supporter of US President Donald Trump, in addition to being a friend of Musk himself.
Advert
Consequently, the account sharing adverts for the documentary has now been 'permanently banned', as reported by The Telegraph, with Bleecker Street, the film's distributor, told that they were unable to purchase any additional ads.
TikTok bans ads for Musk documentary
According to reports, there were ongoing conversations between TikTok and Bleecker Street before the ban was put in place, with warnings directed towards the distributor relating to a "level of severity with political-policy violations," although it remains unclear what exactly these violations amounted to.
TikTok has specifically stated that it "does not allow political advertising," yet one would assume that this would apply to advertising for political candidates or movements, as opposed to a documentary relating to the political sphere.
Another thing to consider is that Larry Elisson does appear within the documentary, as it briefly focuses on a text message sent to Musk from the Oracle co-founder where he offers to contribute billions of dollars to the purchase of X, then Twitter, which went through in October 2022.
Account now unbanned, with decision made in 'error'
What has emerged in the days following the ban, however, is that the decision was seemingly made in 'error', with TikTok now reinstating the account and its ability to share advertising for the documentary — albeit with some conditions.
While no restrictions have been applied to the account upon its return to the platform, a spokesperson has outlined that Bleecker Street "is now in good standing, and their ability to post ads has been restored to publish any ads complying with our policies."
It's unclear whether these 'policies' that have to be complied with are the same ones that led to the suspension in error in the first place, and whether there remains a level of freedom when it comes to sharing political or politics-adjacent content that understandably emerges from the film's subject matter.