Producers Behind Blade Runner 2049 sue Elon Musk, Tesla, and WBD over AI Images
The production company who made Blade Runner 2049, Alcon Entertainment, has sued Elon Musk, Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery over unapproved AI images of their film in a new promotional campaign for Tesla’s robotaxi.
Alcon Entertainment, the production company behind Blade Runner 2049, has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, Elon Musk, and Warner Bros. Discovery, claiming unauthorized use of imagery from the sci-fi film during Tesla’s recent robotaxi launch event. According to the suit, Alcon claims it explicitly denied Warner Bros.’ request to incorporate visuals from the film at the October 10 Tesla event, but organizers allegedly used artificial intelligence to create promotional content inspired by the film despite the refusal.
Tesla and Warner Bros. have yet to respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit describes the unauthorized use as a considerable economic misappropriation and criticized Tesla’s corporate practices. Alcon’s filing warned other companies to carefully weigh the risks of collaborating with Tesla, citing Musk's unpredictable public behavior, which the suit claims sometimes crosses into hate speech.
The legal complaint also criticizes the organizers of falsely implying a connection between Tesla and Alcon. The event took place at one of Warner Bros.’ studio lots—an interesting overlap, given Warner Bros. was the distributor of Blade Runner 2049 when it premiered in 2017. The long-awaited sequel to the original Blade Runner (1982) starred Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, and Jared Leto, and earned critical acclaim and two Academy Awards.
Musk has previously alluded to the influence of Blade Runner on Tesla’s designs, even mentioning the film as inspiration for the Cybertruck. Meanwhile, Alcon is actively expanding the franchise, with a spinoff television series, Blade Runner 2099, now in development.
This legal clash reflects the increasing tension between the tech and entertainment worlds, where lines between homage, inspiration, and intellectual property are becoming ever more blurred.