Elon Musk was accused of stealing designs for his Cybercab, Robovan, and Optimus Robot. The accusation came from the director of I Robot, Alex Proyas. Proyas film was released back in 2004 way before Tesla’s design was revealed. 

The public reveal of Tesla’s latest inventions has brought back the memory of the word in I, Robot film into general public discussion. They also point out the similarities between the designs in the film and the real-life Tesla products.

The director of I Robot took to his Twitter to directly accuse Elon Musk of stealing his designs. Moreover, he asked Elon Musk to return his designs. Of course, Musk can’t “re-edit” the designs of Cybercab, Robovan, or Optimus. However, the director is indirectly demanding his due credit.

Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please? #ElonMusk #Elon_Musk pic.twitter.com/WPgxHevr6E

— Alex Proyas (@alex_proyas) October 13, 2024

Musk or Tesla have not yet commented on this matter. Given how vocal and unhinged Musk can be on his very own platform X, one can expect him to respond to Proyas’s claim.

Hollywood director faces backlash on his tweet

Meanwhile, the director is facing backlash from the people for his audacious claim which could have been a mere inspiration. A user replied to Proyas how he should be honored that Elon changed what he did with CGI into reality. Some people defended the movie director, saying even Elon’s products are just concepts, yet to be made into reality.

Source X: @LudwigvonMercer

One user shared the same style of collage sourcing the designs way back before the I, Robot release.  He replied with this collage on the director’s tweet saying “The original humanoid robot From Metropolis, Art Deco era locomotives, and the 1939 Duesenberg Coupe would all like a word.”

There could be a probability of Musk’s inspiration from I, Robot

In December 2023, Elon Musk talked about his inspiration for cybertruck in an interview with Sandy Munro.

The Tesla CEO said “I specifically wanted to make something that looks like the future….What car would Blade Runner drive?” Furthermore, The Spy Who Loved Me is another one of his favorite films which also inspired him for Cybertruck’s design.

Therefore, it could as well be the possibility that the same was the case with I, Robot.

Elon Musk Tesla designs are the case of “Life mimicking Art”

Since “futuristic” is what motivates Musk the most. He and the designers at Tesla may look to the medium of films as the most convenient source to visualize their ideas.

Furthermore, people are also pointing to Clevelan Mercury as the inspiration for Cybervan as well.

One can’t confirm what the case is until Tesla makes a statement regarding this. However, in case of no response, it’s not difficult to believe that this could be just life-mimicking art.