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Ike Barinholtz to play Elon Musk in upcoming AI movie

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Ike Barinholtz to play Elon Musk in upcoming AI movie

The movie has a cast that includes Monica Barbaro, Andrew Garfield, and more


Maria Loreto
Senior Writer
JULY 24, 2025 4:15 PM EDT

Ike Barinholtz has landed a new role. He's rumored to be playing Elon Musk in an upcoming movie called "Artificial," directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring an all-star cast that includes Monica Barbaro, Andrew Garfield, Cooper Koch, and more. 

Ike Barinholtz might be playing Elon Musk in a new comedy© Variety via Getty Images
Ike Barinholtz might be playing Elon Musk in a new comedy

The film is described as a “comedic drama set in the world of artificial intelligence," with there being few details of it released to the public. According to Variety, the film is rumored to be based on the company OpenAI and the notorious 2023 scandal that plagued the company around Thanksgiving, when the CEO Sam Altman was fired and rehired within days. 

It's believed that Garfield is playing the role of Altman while the Oscar nominee Yura Borisov is playing Ilya Stuskever, one of the OpenAI co-founders who was behind the movement of trying to get Altman fired.

Musk was involved in the development of OpenAI, being one of its co-founders© Getty Images
Musk was involved in the development of OpenAI, being one of its co-founders

In the case of Musk, his involvement in the scandal appears to be more peripheral. He was one of the cofounders of OpenAI but left the company in 2018. Reportedly, Musk separated himself from the company due to having some issues with its management. He was also vocal about his issues with AI, speaking up about the risks that it posed to mankind. 

Still, since his split, Musk has pursued other AI ventures of his own, introducing Grok, an AI chatbot, to X. "I resisted AI for too long. Living in denial. Now it's game on," he wrote on his platform X, tagging his different companies, which include Tesla, xAI, and SpaceX.

"Artificial" is written by Simon Rich, who has previously written for different comedy shows and projects like "Saturday Night Live" and "Miracle Workers.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 02: Andrew Garfield attends the 97th Annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 02, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) © Getty
Andrew Garfield is rumored to be playing the role of Sam Altman

Musk's experiences in movies

In the past, Elon Musk has appeared in various movies, mostly playing himself in science fiction, comedy, or action projects like "Iron Man 2," "Machete Kills," and "The Big Bang Theory." He also served as host for an episode of "Saturday Night Live." 

Musk has been the subject of biographies and books in the past, but this marks the first instance when he'll be portrayed by an actor in a film.

Elon Musk wearing a DOGE t-shirt on March 9th, 2025© Getty Images
Musk stepped down from OpenAI in 2018

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