Elon Musk has openly acknowledged that his controversial company, Tesla, draws inspiration from movies and sci-fi for its futuristic products—something previously demonstrated at the We, Robot event. This presentation featured the Robotaxi, or Cybercab, and brought Tesla’s Optimus robot back into the spotlight. Recently, I, Robot director Alex Proyas posted a comparison montage, humorously accusing Musk of stealing ideas from his movie. Proyas later clarified that he was joking. However, the producers of Blade Runner 2049 are not joking—they are suing over the Robotaxi presentation.
According to Variety, Alcon Entertainment, the production company behind Blade Runner 2049, has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, Musk, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The producers claim that the presentation featured AI-generated images that strongly resemble specific scenes from Blade Runner 2049, infringing on their copyright. As stated in the Variety article, Alcon is also suing because they do not want Tesla or the Blade Runner franchise associated with Musk and his political views in any capacity.
The lawsuit seeks a court order preventing anyone connected to Musk, Tesla, or Warner Bros. from copying, distributing, displaying, or selling any part of Blade Runner 2049, or from using or authorizing its use. Alcon argues that they have invested decades of time and money in building the Blade Runner franchise, and this "unlawful appropriation" has caused significant damage. The Tesla event was globally streamed, meaning millions of people saw it, and now, instead of associating those iconic images with Blade Runner 2049, they are linked to the Robotaxi.
One of the controversial concept sketches (seen in the video below at 5:30) unmistakably evokes Blade Runner 2049, featuring a character resembling Ryan Gosling’s protagonist. Musk even acknowledged the connection in his presentation, explaining that these films depict a dark future that no one wants to see realized. "I love Blade Runner, but I’m not sure we want its future. Sure, many of us like the coat he wears, but not the bleak apocalypse. We want a fun, exciting future where, if we saw it in a crystal ball, we’d say, 'Yes, we want to live in that world!'" Musk said during the October 10 presentation, effectively admitting the connection to Blade Runner.
As Variety emphasized, the Robotaxi presentation took place at Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio lot in Burbank, California, which is why Warner, the distributor of Blade Runner 2049, is named in the lawsuit. Allegedly, Warner approached Alcon before Tesla’s presentation to seek permission to use certain images and clips from the film, but Alcon’s executives, Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, declined. One of the main reasons for the refusal was Alcon's desire to avoid any association with Musk or his companies due to their political affiliations.
The producers also argue that Warner Bros. Discovery did not have the right or authority to grant Tesla access to Blade Runner 2049. Alcon further accuses Musk of being fully aware that Warner's request had been rejected, yet proceeding with the unauthorized reproduction of one of the film's iconic promotional images using AI. This wasn’t a case of blatant theft but rather the unauthorized reuse of motifs—without permission.
This situation is particularly problematic for Alcon because it could harm their new project, the Blade Runner 2099 series, currently in production, which uses the same visual motifs. Alcon also has ongoing partnerships with other tech companies, and Tesla’s unauthorized use of Blade Runner 2049 images could negatively impact their business interests.
In a slightly more uplifting note, Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve reflected on the sci-fi film, which was a box office disappointment. He admitted that he knew taking on the project was incredibly risky but felt it was worth it to continue his favorite film’s legacy, even at the potential cost of his career.
