Blade Runner 2049 creators sue Elon Musk over AI-generated Robotaxi images

By Henry Moore

The production house behind Blade Runner 2049 has sued Elon Musk, Tesla and Warner Bros Discovery over claims they used images from the film without permission.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Production company Alcon Entertainment alleges it expressly denied a request by Warner Bros to use imagery from Blade Runner 2049 to market Tesla’s so-called Robotaxi.

Alcon claims the company used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate images that very closely resemble shots from the 2017 film.

Tesla and Warner Bros are yet to comment on the allegations.

Read more: Ads funded by Elon Musk tell voters Kamala Harris is both pro-Israel — and anti-Israel

Read more: Paddington Bear granted UK passport by Home Office

"Any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk’s massively amplified, highly politicised, capricious and arbitrary behaviour, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account," the lawsuit said.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 - Official Trailer

The use of the imagery accounts for a “false endorsement” Alcon claimed.

Warner Bros hosted Musk’s We, Robot event and also distributed Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 cyberpunk masterpiece Blade Runner.

Elon Musk has cited the film series as a key inspiration for his Cybertruck.

A number of creatives have accused Musk of plagiarism following the We, Robot event, including the director of the 2004 sci-fi film I, Robot.

Alex Proyas hit out at the design of Musk’s humanoid robot, originally named “Optimus.”

"Hey Elon, can I have my designs back please," Mr Proyas said on X, formerly known as Twitter.