Elon Musk Reportedly Invested $1 Billion in Paramount Skydance: Could the Move Block A Documentary He Didn’t Want You to See?

Rumored last month, it appears that the world’s richest man is now a shareholder in the new combined media giant that is Skydance (NYSE:SKYD), the combination of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. Here’s why the investment may have been more about personal gain than helping out friends.

Musk Invests $1 Billion in Media Giant

The combined media company owns media properties like CBS, HBO, Paramount+ and more, units that could partner with X on content, or that could make sure an anti-Musk documentary doesn’t reach a large audience.

On Thursday, Semafor reported that Elon Musk invested $1 billion in the media company that is led by David Ellison. The merger was backed by Larry Ellison, David’s father, who personally guaranteed $40 billion in equity financing.

Larry Ellison and Musk are friends and over the years Ellison has invested in Musk-led projects. Ellison invested in Tesla back in 2018 and served on the Board of Directors from 2018 to 2022. Ellison also invested $1 billion in Musk’s 2022 deal to take social media company Twitter private.

That close relationship and past dealings is what led to a report in September that Ellison had approached Musk to help with the high level of debt in the deal. The relationship is also why media mogul John Malone suggested this week that Musk would get involved with the media company.

"Who helped Elon finance Twitter when he bought it? Larry Ellison," Malone said during a media appearance this week, as reported by Deadline. "How did Larry Ellison come up with some of the money to put into the creation of Skydance? Tesla stock. And I would not doubt for a minute that before very long you’re going to see an announcement."

Personal Conflicts

It remains unclear whether the investment came from SpaceX or Musk personally, and neither has detailed the reasoning behind the deal.

The deal also comes as Paramount Skydance holds rights to the "Musk" documentary, which the world’s richest man has publicly criticized.

That film has grossed over $480,000 in a limited theater run in North America, while receiving strong reviews from critics, with a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

After its theatrical run, the film’s North American streaming rights belong to HBO Max, which is owned by Paramount Skydance.

It’s unclear whether Musk’s stake will give him any say over content decisions, including the documentary’s streaming release.

The stake gives Musk partial ownership of outlets including CNN and CBS, raising questions from media observers about potential influence over coverage of Musk and President Donald Trump.

Musk has frequently criticized traditional media and spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Republican candidates in the 2024 and 2026 election cycles.

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