The production company behind the 2017 sci-fi film “Blade Runner 2049” filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and Tesla in federal court Monday, alleging they fed images from the film, without permission, into an AI generator to promote Tesla’s Cybercab.

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Elon Musk invoked "Blade Runner" at Tesla's [+]

Cybercab unveiling on Oct. 10. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

🔸Key Facts

Alcon Entertainment filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court Monday, listing Musk, Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery—a distributor of “Blade Runner 2049,” which also hosted Tesla’s “robotaxi” announcement on its Burbank, California lot—as defendants.

Alcon alleged Musk and Tesla had requested, and were denied, permission to use “Blade Runner 2049” imagery in their presentation of Tesla’s Cybercab earlier this month, and instead fed images from the film to an AI generator to create similar images.

The production company also alleged Warner Bros. does not own the copyright to “Blade Runner 2049” and claimed the company would have been legally required to ask Alcon for permission to use imagery from the film in Tesla’s presentation, which Alcon says it did not.

Alcon alleged Musk and Tesla intended to pass off the AI-generated image, which it says was on screen for 11 seconds, as an actual still from “Blade Runner,” citing comments Musk made while the image was on screen during the presentation: “You know, I love ‘Blade Runner,” Musk said, before explaining how his Cybercab is less dystopian than the movie.

The lawsuit slammed Musk as “problematic” and says Alcon does not want to be associated with the billionaire—who has grown increasingly outspoken and has drawn headlines for promoting former President Donald Trump—because of his “extreme political and social views.”

🔸Key Background

Musk unveiled Tesla’s Cybercab at a presentation on Oct. 11. Musk, who has long promised self-driving technology but frequently misses his own deadlines, said the self-driving taxis will be in production in three years. The taxis have no steering wheel or pedals, and Musk said they will be priced under $30,000. He also introduced a “robovan” that he says can carry up to 20 people. But investors and analysts appeared unimpressed by his announcement: Tesla stock was down 8% the morning after, and some analysts said Musk’s presentation was scant on details and lacked a solid timeline. Musk has long cited “Blade Runner” as inspiration for his Tesla technology. In a 2023 tweet, he called Tesla’s Cybertruck an “armored personnel carrier from the future – what Bladerunner would have driven.” In another tweet earlier that year, Musk said Cybertrucks were “designed for Bladerunner.”

🔸Surprising Fact

Alex Proyas, director of “I, Robot” (2004), also called out Musk for similarities between Tesla’s designs and his own science fiction film. “Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?” Proyas posted on X last week, with side-by-side comparisons of Tesla’s vehicles and humanoid “Optimus” robot alongside robots from his film. Matt Granger, an assistant to Proyas on “I, Robot,” said in an apparently deleted tweet: “I too wish to offer my full-fingered ‘f*ck you’ to Elon and his utter lack of creativity,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

🔸Tangent

“Blade Runner 2049” opened in theaters in October 2017, directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford. The movie, a sequel to “Blade Runner” (1982), was a critical success and won two Academy Awards. The film is set in a dystopian, technologically advanced society. Alcon said in its lawsuit against Musk it is “hardly coincidental” he chose to reference “Blade Runner 2049” in his presentation, as the film features a “strikingly-designed, artificially intelligent, fully autonomous car.”

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