Tesla Faces Lawsuit from Blade Runner 2049's Maker Over Unauthorized Imagery

The suit claims significant financial harm due to alleged false endorsements that misrepresent Alcon's connection to Tesla.

The production company behind the acclaimed film Blade Runner 2049, Alcon Entertainment, has initiated legal action against Tesla, Elon Musk, and Warner Bros Discovery. The lawsuit alleges that the companies misappropriated imagery from the iconic film during the promotional launch event for Tesla’s highly anticipated robotaxi.

The event took place on October 10, where Alcon asserts that Tesla and Warner Bros utilized artificial intelligence to create promotional images inspired by Blade Runner 2049, despite Alcon denying a prior request from Warner Bros to use the material. The lawsuit claims that the financial impact of this alleged infringement is considerable, stating, “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.”

Furthermore, Alcon has raised concerns over “false endorsement” and the implications it carries regarding its association with Tesla. Warner Bros, which hosted the event at its studio, was also the distributor for Blade Runner 2049, a film that has garnered critical acclaim and won two Academy Awards after its release in 2017.

The sequel, which starred actors Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, and Jared Leto, is noted for its influence on contemporary sci-fi aesthetics. Musk has previously highlighted the original Blade Runner film as a source of inspiration for Tesla’s Cybertruck.

In a related incident, Alex Proyas, director of the sci-fi film I, Robot, has also accused Musk of borrowing design elements for his humanoid robots and self-driving technology. Proyas highlighted Tesla's event title, "We, Robot," as a direct reference to his own work, leading him to publicly ask Musk for a return of his original designs. However, reactions to Proyas’ claims on social media have been mixed, with some users branding his film as derivative in its own right.

As Alcon continues to develop a spinoff TV series titled Blade Runner 2099, it remains to be seen how this legal battle will unfold and what implications it might have for collaborations in the tech and creative industries moving forward.