An American film studio has sued Tesla boss Elon Musk for using images that were very similar to the film Blade Runner 2049 during the presentation of the self-driving Tesla Cybercab.
The film studio Alcon Entertainment is suing both Musk and Tesla because the car manufacturer used images that were too similar to its film ‘Blade Runner 2049’ during the presentation of the self-driving Cybercab and Robovan. Alcon wants to prevent the Blade Runer films from being associated with Musk.
Tesla only asked the film producer for permission to use the images, which were strongly inspired by the science fiction film, one day prior to the event. Alcon refused, but Musk didn’t care and showed the images anyway during the Tesla event in Los Angeles. The company presented its Cybercab, a fully self-driving taxi, and the Robovan, an autonomous futuristic bus.
Alcon is now accusing Musk of copyright infringement and says Tesla acted “intentionally maliciously.” According to the studio, the images were intended to make the event ‘more attractive to the global audience’, while the Blade Runner brand was used to sell Tesla vehicles. The film company denied Musk permission because the billionaire’s “highly politicized behavior” could damage the brand.
Tesla recreated it with AI
Self-driving cars are also featured in Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to the original 1982 film. The Tesla presentation included an AI-generated image that looked very similar to a shot from the movie.
Alcon also says Tesla’s images could cause confusion as the company is in talks with other car brands for its new Amazon Prime Video series Blade Runner 2099. According to Alcon, the film was used by Tesla as a way to “link the Cybercab to strong Hollywood brands.”
Musk is fan
Musk is a big fan of Blade Runner and has referred to the film several times in the past. For example, he described Tesla’s Cybertruck as a ‘futuristic cyberpunk Blade Runner pickup truck’.
The Blade Runner producer is not the only one in Hollywood who is angry with Tesla because of the presentation, which showed the Optimus robots in addition to the Cybercab and the Robovan. Alex Proyas, director of the film I, Robot thinks that the new Tesla products look suspiciously like designs from his film.
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Source: www.bright.nl
