Justine Musk, a writer and Elon Musk’s first ex-wife, described her former husband as someone who “actually gains strength amid chaos.”

Business Insider reported on Oct. 6 that Justine Musk referred to her former husband’s temperament and working style in a preview clip of an interview released by journalist Kara Swisher. The interview was conducted in connection with director Alex Gibney’s new documentary, “MUSK.”

Justine compared Musk to someone who jumps off a cliff first and then creates a parachute while falling. She said that when problems arise, he treats them as survival-level crises, and he actually lives life at that intensity. “That kind of tension draws people in, and at first it can feel like excitement and energy,” she said.

That assessment also aligns with recent examples of internal operations at SpaceXAI. After interviewing current and former employees, the outlet found that after Musk’s involvement increased, project priorities shifted rapidly and war rooms were run for focused responses. Musk used an X (Twitter) group chat with more than 300 engineers instead of Slack, and in some cases researchers stopped their work to address issues Musk pointed out first. One former employee said “the company kept moving as if it were in a constant state of emergency response.”

A similar management style also appeared in the past after the acquisition of Twitter. Musk carried out large-scale layoffs in 2022, and acknowledged the following year that he had at times moved so quickly with cuts that needed personnel were also let go.

Even so, Justine said, “I always thought there was a logic of its own to Musk’s approach that looks chaotic on the surface.” The remarks should be viewed as a personal assessment by an ex-spouse who observed him up close over a long period, rather than an objective definition of his management style.

Gibney’s documentary “MUSK” takes a critical look at his business, political influence and expansion of power.