Elon Musk accused of using AI-generated Blade Runner-type scenes to promote Tesla

By Gizem Nisa Cebi

ISTANBUL (AA) - The production company behind the latest Blade Runner movie has filed a lawsuit against businessman Elon Musk and two companies for stealing the film’s stylish vision of futuristic cities.

In the suit filed on Monday, Alcon Entertainment accuses Musk of unlawfully using imagery from the 2017 sci-fi film Blade Runner 2049 during the Oct. 10 launch event for Tesla's "robotaxi."

Despite Alcon denying Musk’s request to use images from the movie, the event showcased AI-generated visuals much like scenes from Blade Runner 2049, including one featuring a character resembling Ryan Gosling, the film’s lead.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Los Angeles, alleged Musk’s team used artificial intelligence to replicate the movie’s imagery in bad faith, claiming the tactic was "a bad-faith and intentionally malicious gambit" to boost the event’s appeal.

Alcon added that the unauthorized use misappropriated the Blade Runner 2049 brand to boost Tesla’s sales.

Alcon refused Musk's request due to his "highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech," as detailed in the complaint.

Additionally, Alcon said it was negotiating partnerships with other automakers for an upcoming Blade Runner 2099 television series on Amazon and did not want to jeopardize those discussions.

In a statement, Alcon highlighted that the use of AI-generated content had already caused confusion, asserting that "the false affiliation between Blade Runner 2049 and Tesla has been irreparably tangled in the global media tapestry, as all defendants knew would inevitably happen."

Representatives for Elon Musk – as well as Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery, also targeted by the suit – have not commented on the case.

The 2017 film is a sequel to 1982’s Blade Runner, seen by many critics as a dystopian sci-fi classic.