Two weeks ago at the We, Robot event, Tesla showed off their two new self-driving vehicles, the Cybercab and the Robovan. At the show, Elon Musk mentioned the future as if it were a fictional film Blade Runner and also used a similar background image from the film Blade Runner 2049 which was generated using AI. Elon Musk was recently sued by Alcon Entertainment for using the image.
Alcon Entertainment sued not only Elon Musk but also Warner Bros. Discovery. This is because the film rights of Blade Runner 2049 including images from the film belong to Alcon. Elon and Warner Bros. sued after their application to use images from the film Blade Runner 2049 was rejected and the We, Robots event used the same image regenerated with AI. Although the film release is by Warner, they only hold the license and are not allowed to use the images for mass streaming events.
Alcon Entertainment also insisted that they do not want the products and works of Blade Runner 2049 to be associated with Elon Musk and Tesla because they claim that the brand is often politicized and sometimes leads to hate speech. This purported image is a rear view visual of Officer K played by Ryan Gosling along with a futuristic car in the background of a fictional future. Alcon Entertainment did not disclose the amount of damages they sought from Elon Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery.