Elon Musk and Tesla Sued for Using AI-Generated ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Images at Robotaxi Event

The production company behind Blade Runner 2049 has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, Elon Musk, and Warner Bros. Discovery, for allegedly feeding stills from the movie into an AI image generator to create unauthorized promotional content.

Alcon Entertainment claims in the lawsuit — filed in a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles — that the defendants used AI-generated images reminiscent of the 2017 film after Alcon denied a request to use footage for the October 10 event held at the Warner Bros. studio lot.

The event was a launch for Tesla’s much-anticipated “robotaxi” and involved an AI image that closely mirrored iconic scenes from Blade Runner 2049.

The image, which was displayed during Elon Musk’s live-streamed presentation, depicted a trench coat-wearing figure in a desolate orange-lit cityscape—strikingly similar to a sequence featuring Ryan Gosling’s character in the film. The presentation was allegedly intended to evoke the atmosphere of the movie and its association with futuristic, autonomous technology. Alcon says that this use of imagery constitutes a “bad-faith and intentionally malicious gambit” to create a false association between the film and Tesla’s products, per The New York Times.

The complaint accuses the defendants of direct and contributory copyright infringement, as well as false endorsement. Alcon claims that the unauthorized affiliation could undermine ongoing negotiations with other automotive brands for a spinoff TV series, Blade Runner 2099, currently in production. The lawsuit also notes that Alcon denied permission partly due to Musk’s “highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech.”

Warner Bros., which distributed Blade Runner 2049 and hosted the robotaxi event, is also named for allegedly facilitating Tesla’s promotional efforts. The lawsuit suggests that Tesla and Warner Bros. had entered into an agreement involving promotional rights without Alcon’s consent.

Alcon is seeking unspecified damages and a court order preventing Tesla from further distributing the promotional material. Neither Musk, Tesla, nor Warner Bros. have responded to requests for comment.

Elon Musk’s admiration for the Blade Runner series is well-documented having previously hinted that the original 1982 film was a source of inspiration for Tesla’s Cybertruck.

Tesla’s robotaxi event was called “We, Robot” which prompted the director of 2004 sci-fi movie I, Robot to accuse Musk of copying his designs for humanoid machines.

“Hey Elon, can I have my designs back please,” Alex Proyas said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) which has been viewed more than eight million times.