You know it’s going to be an interesting week when someone picks a fight against Elon Musk. Alcon Entertainment, the production company behind Blade Runner 2049, has filed a lawsuit against Musk, Tesla, and Warner Bros. Discovery over alleged copyright infringement through AI-generated imagery. The legal battle centers around Tesla’s recent “We, Robot” presentation, where the company unveiled its ambitious robotaxi project.
The controversy began when Tesla allegedly used AI-generated images that closely mimicked scenes from Blade Runner 2049 during their October 10 presentation on the Warner Bros. lot in California. According to the lawsuit, Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery had requested permission to use imagery from the film mere hours before the event.
Despite receiving a clear rejection from Alcon, Tesla proceeded to showcase what the lawsuit describes as “a lightly stylized fake screen still” featuring a figure in a duster jacket standing before an apocalyptic cityscape.
The whole situation is a proper dose of irony given that Blade Runner 2049 itself depicts a future where artificial beings and autonomous vehicles are commonplace. During the presentation, Musk directly referenced the franchise, stating, “I love Blade Runner, but I don’t know if we want that future,” adding that while he appreciated the iconic duster jacket, he wasn’t keen on “the bleak apocalypse.”
Alcon’s refusal to license the imagery wasn’t arbitrary. The company cited concerns about Musk’s “highly politicized, capricious, and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech,” as a key reason for denying the request.
Additionally, Alcon revealed it was in negotiations with other automotive brands regarding an upcoming Amazon series, Blade Runner 2099, making the unauthorized Tesla association particularly problematic.
This case bears striking similarities to a recent controversy involving Scarlett Johansson and OpenAI, where AI technology was allegedly used to circumvent traditional licensing requirements. Some serious questions have already been raised about the intersection of AI technology and intellectual property rights in the entertainment industry.
Alcon’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, with the main goal being to prevent Tesla from further distributing the contested promotional materials.
