Blade Runner 2049 producer sues Tesla and Elon Musk over AI-generated Robotaxi images
Alcon Entertainment sues Elon Musk for using Blade Runner 2049 imagery without permission
Alcon Entertainment, the production company behind Blade Runner 2049 movie and the upcoming Blade Runner 2099 TV series, has sued Tesla, Elon Musk, and Warner Bros. Discovery for using imagery from the film without permission.
Elon Musk is known to be a fan of the Blade Runner franchise and requested permission from the company to use its imagery for their October 10th robotaxi reveal. Alcon “refused all permissions and adamantly objected to Defendants suggesting any affiliation between BR2049 and Tesla, Musk or any Musk-owned company.” Clearly, the company didn’t want to be associated with Elon Musk. However, that wasn’t enough to stop Musk from using AI to generate fake imagery and create that association anyway.
In their legal filing, Alcon Entertainment stated that the “financial magnitude of the misappropriation here was substantial.” It has been claimed that “Prior actual BR2049 contracts linking automotive brands to the Picture have had dollar price tags in the eight figures.” Furthermore, Musk’s use of the Blade Runner IP will cause confusion between Alcon and future would-be partners and jeopardize future Blade Runner 2099 brand partnerships.
Simply put, a Blade Runner brand partnership should have cost Tesla millions. Furthermore, Alcon Entertainment was asked for permission, and they denied it. That makes Musk/Tesla’s use of the IP malicious. Regardless of the consequences, Musk pushed ahead anyway. In his mind, the cost of this lawsuit is likely seen as worthwhile. After all, this controversy is free advertising for the robotaxi and associates Musk’s name with AI. Additionally, it draws eyes away from Musk’s other recent controversies.
(Image from Blade Runner 2049)
Alcon didn’t want Blade Runner to be associated with Musk
As a brand, Alcon Entertainment has clear reasons not to associate with Elon Musk. After all, Musk is a controversial figure. They clearly state this in their lawsuit.
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.
If, as here, a company or its principals do not actually agree with Musk’s extreme political and social views, then a potential brand affiliation with Tesla is even more issuefraught. Alcon did not want BR2049 to be affiliated with Musk, Tesla, or any Musk company, for all of these reasons.
In spite of their objections, Musk used AI to make his robotaxi seem like a vehicle from a Blade Runner-style future. As a result, the brand is now associated with Musk. Musk is a controversial figure, which will reflect poorly on the Blade Runner brand. Alcon Entertainment didn’t want this, so they are suing Musk for his actions.
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