Kimbal Musk Teams up With Former DreamWorks CEO to Bring Drone Shows to Life: ‘I Love the Art Form’
The new venture from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Elon Musk's brother aims to tell stories high above the sky
Kimbal Musk—brother of Tesla chief executive officer (CEO) Elon Musk—is teaming up with former DreamWorks Animation Studios CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg to bring a brand new type of entertainment into the skies. In a recent announcement, the two shared that they would be joining forces to help bring Musk’s drone show, Nova Sky Stories, to people all around the world. We have what you need to know about both the show and Musk’s history with the sky-high technology below.
What to know about Kimbal Musk’s drone shows
Musk and Katzenberg announced that they would be joining forces to bring drone shows to people all over the world under the name Nova Sky Stories.
“I just wanted his [Katzenberg’s] advice, because I have so much admiration for his work as a storyteller. Some of my favorite movies of all time are Jeffrey’s movies. And during this process, he said, ‘You know, maybe this could be a fun thing to join.’ So he joined as an investor, but also as a strategic advisor to help us build a business and also build the creative now,” Musk told Deadline.
“I’m very good at technology, but it’s not my love. I love the art form. I’ve been a musician my whole life, a storyteller. Now, because I’ve been involved in technology, what I end up doing in those companies, whether it’s Tesla or companies I’ve been part of, it’s always in product design. It’s always in the customer experience. So, for me, Nova is this beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely dive in on the storytelling, artistic side of who I am, and it’s just been wonderful, especially with Jeffrey now onboard.”
As of publication, it appears as though both Musk and Katzenberg want to create their own stories to convey in the sky through drones. And while that may seem ambitious, the idea isn’t exactly a new one. Disney has been doing it for years, and several counties and states have organized drone shows instead of fireworks to help protect their land and wildlife.
“What will be revealed very quickly is a spectacular technology platform that is these proprietary drones,” Katzenberg told Deadline. “They have been designed very specifically for this purpose – they are purpose-built for art. The features and functions around these are quite dazzling. So, it’s not just blinking lights in the sky, but when you look at the complexity of it, think of it as an individual pixel. It is simply amazing in terms of what they are capable of today and what will be coming in the next generation of drones, which is literally next year.”
A history of Musk’s drones: from Burning Man to Paul McCartney
Much like his brother, Musk has always had a certain amount of flair when it comes to technology. Originally a chef, the 57-year-old first brought his drone story idea to life in 2022 at the Burning Man festival, and since then, he has made strides in turning it into a must-see show.
“This is a show we started last year. We sold 6,000 tickets. We are on track to sell half a million tickets this year. We are flying this weekend alone because it’s digital art; we have fleets all over the world. London, Nice, the Netherlands, San Francisco, Australia. I believe those are the five this weekend alone, and each one of them is between three and 5,000 paying customers per evening,” Musk said of the company’s growth.
“Still, I look at it as if it’s like we’re playing bars right now. Yeah, and we are not even in the clubs yet, and not the stadiums. We’ve worked with Paul McCartney and others. We’ve worked with the greatest artists. What we have found, though, is that we can draw the audience with our own content, with our own stories, and it’s just so much more fun.”
Because of the show’s success, Musk is planning on stepping back from his other companies, like Kitchen Restaurant Group and Big Green. But he will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors for Tesla.
“Nova’s my passion, and I’m just so happy to have the opportunity to grow it,” he said. “And Jeffrey’s done this before so many times, and it just kind of is working out so well that he wants to do this with us.”
To learn more about Nova Sky Stories, including how you can book a show in your area, click here!
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