Alcon alleges that Tesla used AI to infringe on its copyright.
(Image credit: Alcon)
In the history of AI art, Tesla's use of allegedly AI images for its Robotaxi event won't be remembered for its artistic merit, but it could become a test case for copyright issues. Alcon Entertainment, the production company that made Blade Runner 2049, is suing Tesla, its CEO Elon Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) over the imagery.
In the lawsuit, Alcon alleges that when Musk presented the Tesla Robotaxi from a WBD Hollywood studio in the live-streamed event, he "awkwardly" showed an allegedly AI-generated image inspired by Blade Runner 2049. If there were any doubt as to what the image was supported to reference, Musk even mentioned the film by name saying: "You know, I love Blade Runner, but I don’t know if we want that future. I believe we want that duster he’s wearing, but not the bleak apocalypse."
An image that looks like an AI-generated image based on Blade Runner 2049 (Image credit: Tesla, allegedly AI-generated)
The lawsuit anticipates that Musk may try to argue that his mention was coincidental, but there's more. According to the complaint, Tesla and WBD had asked for permission to use real imagery from Blade Runner 2049, but Alcon had refused.
Alcon now accuses WBD of conspiring with Musk and Tesla to infringe its copyright to benefit financially from a brand association that it had refused and objected to. It claims that it was contacted by WBD with a request to licence the image just six hours before the Robotaxi event, and that it quickly made a decision to reject the request.
It said it would never allow Blade Runner to be used by Tesla because "Musk has become an increasingly vocal, overtly political, highly polarizing figure globally, and especially in Hollywood." It said the use of Blade Runner imagery would risk alienating other car brands from potential partnerships related to the upcoming Blade Runner 2099 TV series and could also cause it to lose creative talent.
The scene from Blade Runner 2049 (Image credit: Alcon)
The "Hollywood talent pool market generally is less likely to deal with Alcon, or parts of the market may be, if they believe or are confused as to whether, Alcon has an affiliation with Tesla or Musk," the complaint reads. It adds that "any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk’s massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account."
As for why Musk wanted to associate the Robotaxi with Blade Runner 2049, Alcon notes that the vehicles in the film, known as spinners, are "artificially intelligent autonomously capable" flying cars and "one of the most famous vehicles in motion picture history."
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As for why WBD is also being sued, Alcon claims that after Musk asked to use the Blade Runner image, WBD sought to gain rights through a request through "clip licensing," a less expensive form of licensing, thus downplaying the use of the imagery.
Alcon has asked for an injunction to stop Tesla from using any more Blade Runner-inspired imagery. It also wants Tesla to be ordered to put a disclaimer on video from the Robotaxi event to state that the Blade Runner association is "false or misleading."
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
