Elon Musk and Tesla are being sued by the production company behind Blade Runner 2049 over the robotaxi images.
This is after Musk’s ‘We, Robot’ event unveiled the Cybercab - a new Tesla vehicle that will have the ability to act as a driverless taxi service.
Tesla allegedly used images from the sci-fi movie to give to an AI image generator in order to make unlicensed materials for the event.
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The lawsuit was filed in California federal court by Alcon Entertainment on Monday and claims copyright infringement and false endorsement.
In the complaint, the production company accuses Musk and Tesla of misappropriating the film’s brand to promote the Cybercab.
The firm has also said that it doesn’t wish to be affiliated with Musk due to his ‘extreme political and social views’.
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The lawsuit states: “Any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk’s massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account.
“Alcon did not want BR2049 to be affiliated with Musk.”
In the Tesla image, a male figure can be seen wearing a trenchcoat, looking down at the ruins of a city.
In the top left corner, it reads, ‘Not This’.
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In Blade Runner 2049, which stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, Gosling’s character can be seen in a futuristic car surveying a destroyed Las Vegas.
Musk also made comments about the film when showcasing his image, saying: “You know, I love Blade Runner, but I don’t know if we want that future.
“I believe we want that duster he’s wearing, but not the, uh, not the bleak apocalypse.”
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Warner Bros Discovery is also named in the lawsuit as it was Alcon’s domestic distributor for the film release and is accused of facilitating the partnership with Tesla.
According to the production company, WBD has limited clip licensing rights but the complaint claims that this does not include the Tesla livestream event.
The lawsuit states: “All of the Defendants participated in its creation, and in its display in the presentation at the event, from a WBDI-owned building and studio lot, on WBDI-owned video screens and otherwise using WBDI-owned technology infrastructure, operated by or in conjunction with Tesla employees, all acting in whole or in part subject to the direction and control of Musk.”
Now, Alcon Entertainment is seeking damages and is also asking for a court order to bar Tesla from any further distribution of the promotional materials.