The production company behind the TV series, Blade Runner 2049, is suing Tesla for copyright infringement and false endorsement.
The legal wrangle has been launched following Tesla’s all-singing launch of its Robotaxis and Robovans where the production company says its brand was used for promotion without permission.
But very specifically, Alcon Entertainment has stated that it does not want to be associated in any way with Tesla’s owner, Elon Musk, and his “extreme political and social views”.
Blade Runner Copyright Quarrel
The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday in California, accuses Musk and co of using stills from the the film, Blade Runner 2049, without permission.
It claims that Tesla then used these images by prompting an AI image generator to create replicas, says the production company’s legal team.
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They honed in on one specific image, says Hollywood Reporter. As Musk reached the stage at the Warner Bros’s Studio after his ride in a robotaxi, an image flashed on screen “…of a male figure wearing a trench coat as he surveys the abandoned ruins of a city bathed in a misty, orange light. In the upper left corner, the words “Not This” appear superimposed on part of the sky.”
The complaint reads that this was “clearly intended to read visually” as a still from Blade Runner 2049′s sequence when Ryan Gosling’s character explores a ruined Las Vegas.
Indeed, Musk even referred to the film franchise in his presentation. “You know, I love Blade Runner, but I don’t know if we want that future,” he said. “I believe we want that duster he’s wearing, but not the, uh, not the bleak apocalypse.”
Musk’s Collaboration with Warner Bros
There is some confusion in the lawsuit though as Musk had teamed up with Warner Bros for the launch and it was the domestic distributor for the 2017 release of Blade Runner 2049.
There was a licensing agreement between Tesla and Warner Bros but Alcon says it didn’t know about this deal nor do Warner Bros’ rights cover this image usage.
Alcon says that it was contacted in the lead up to the event because Musk wanted to use a still from the film. However, this emergency request for clearance was refused by the producer, which is when, the lawsuit alleges, Tesla used AI image generation.
Musk’s Erratic Behavior
While the copyright infringement is the crux of the case, the language of the lawsuit makes it very clear that it is an unauthorized connection to Elon Musk that the production company is baulking at most.
The wording is brutal. “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,” states the complaint. “Alcon did not want BR2049 to be affiliated with Musk.”
Musk’s views and lack of filter has also seen advertisers leave X in their droves, spooked by exactly what the platform’s owner is going to do or say next.
Alcon is seeking unspecified damages and also wants a court order to bar Tesla from using disputed promotional materials in the future.
Perhaps Musk will just use stills from I, Robot as that production company has grumbled but is yet to sue.
