The ambitious television adaptation of Elon Musk’s early SpaceX years was initially sold as a prestige-level HBO epic. It was supposed to be a visionary story about rockets, danger, and reinvention. It had a bestselling book as its foundation, a respected writer attached, major producers on board, and one of the world’s most recognizable tech figures at its center.
Paperwise, it was nearly inevitable. However, now, after years of silence and speculation, the project has officially been declared dead.
Elon Musk’s TV Biopic Falls Apart
This was affirmed by Musk biographer Ashlee Vance this week, who stated that the film adaptation of his 2015 bestseller Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future is no longer in development at HBO. What was even more surprising to the fans was the fact that HBO had, in fact, passed on the series way before Vance announced it. It was a silent burial of what he thought could have been a huge hit.
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However, more than the disappointment, the project cancellation poses a larger question: Has Elon Musk become too controversial to be touched by Hollywood? The initial announcement of the SpaceX series by HBO in 2020 was like the storm of the century. The world was fascinated with space exploration. And Musk was hailed as a futurist, an innovator who pushed boundaries and transformed transportation, space travel, and renewable energy.
Additionally, Ashlee Vance’s biography provided a dramatic rush, a tale of failures, explosive launches (both literal and figurative), and a hero who was obsessed, ambitious, and had an almost mythic sense of mission. The ingredients were there. So what went wrong? Vance says that it was not a matter of creativity. The scripts were good, he insisted, smart, funny, and true to life.
“HBO went through too many gyrations for this one to keep the requisite energy,” he stated. The project was silently killed without any updates, fanfare, or explanation. It was not until years later that Vance disclosed that the long-term partnership had completely broken up and the rights had returned to him. The author indicates that he is willing to accept new offers and appears optimistic that someone else will take a chance on the material.
How Elon Musk Became Too Risky For Hollywood
Had the SpaceX series proceeded as intended in 2020, it would have highlighted a Musk who was popular among many people. At the time, he was a daring, eccentric genius with a cult-like fan base. However, 2025’s Elon Musk is very different, clouded by political drama, social media chaos, and increasingly polarizing behavior. To Hollywood, that makes him a dangerous topic.
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The turning point was the 2022 acquisition of Twitter by Musk. What was being promoted as a free speech campaign soon turned into a platform of unregulated hate speech, fake news, and extremist content. Advertisers fled. Lawsuits followed. Unsurprisingly, Musk’s reputation suffered a significant blow. This was further aggravated by the fact that Musk vocally supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election. He made an unprecedented contribution of more than 290 million dollars to Trump’s campaign.
Following the election, Musk was in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, which began mass layoffs in federal agencies, another hit to his popularity. Additionally, even worse, Musk seemingly made a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration. Each incident widened the gap between Musk and mainstream entertainment. Ashlee Vance said it plainly: “People seem afraid to make something about Elon.” And in the hyper-politicized world we live in today, it is not difficult to understand why.
