Embattled Tesla CEO Elon Musk is being sued by the movie production company behind the 2017 sci-fi film Blade Runner 2049 for copyright infringement, and he had a three-word response to the litigation.
Earlier this month, Musk unveiled the new autonomous Robotaxi during the "We, Robot" event at Warner Bros. Studios Burbank in California to much fanfare.
Following the presentation of the futuristic self-driving rideshare vehicles, Musk, Tesla, and Warner Bros. Discovery were accused of misappropriating the intellectual property of Alcon Entertainment‘s Blade Runner 2049.
According to its lawsuit, Alcon Entertainment claimed Musk used AI-generated imagery during the Robotaxi presentation that closely resembled scenes from the 2017 sequel to 1982's Blade Runner after producers denied his initial request to do so.
The internet was abuzz over the news.
Upon learning of the lawsuit, Musk took to his platform on X (formerly Twitter) and said of Blade Runner 2049:
"That movie sucked."
During the October 10 live-streamed presentation of Tesla's Robotaxi, footage depicted AI-generated images of a man in a trench coat exploring the ruins of Las Vegas, which the suit alleged was lifted directly from Blade Runner 2049 featuring leading actor Ryan Gosling.
According to the lawsuit, the allegedly ripped-off scene "Exuded an odor of thinly contrived excuse to link Tesla’s cybercab to strong Hollywood brands at a time when Tesla and Musk are on the outs with Hollywood.”
The lawsuit continued stating that “Musk personally became aware of Alcon’s permission denials and express objections” to using Blade Runner 2049 images for the Tesla event.
“He thus personally knew and understood that to incorporate BR2049 into the event presentation at all would be improper and an unauthorized misappropriation of ‘BR2049’ goodwill. He did it anyway," it added.
Musk even referenced the film during the presentation, 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.”
Despite Musk's negative opinion, the film was generally favored by critics, with an 88% score on the movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
It was also a box office smash. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049 grossed $92.1 million in the United States, culminating in a global total of of $267.5 million against a production budget between $150–185 million.
Fans of the film disagreed with Musk's snide critique of the film.
According to Alcon's lawsuit, they were strongly against Blade Runner 2049 having any kind of affiliation with “Tesla, X, Musk or any Musk-owned company,” due to the SpaceX investor's "massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech.”
Musk has made headlines recently for his transphobia and for repeatedly deadnaming his 20-year-old trans daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, in an interview. He also quipped that his estranged child was "killed by the woke mind virus."
He was also condemned for a cringey response after music superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Democratic candidate President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, signing off as a "childless cat lady"–a jab at Republican candidate Donald Trump's VP pick, JD Vance.
Fans continued questioning his taste in all things relating to a futuristic aesthetic.
Social media users majorly roasted the look of his 20-passenger autonomous Robovan, also unveiled at the "We, Robot" presentation earlier this month.
Many users mocked the functionality design of the boxy vehicle, which was described as a "stapler," a "computer mouse," and a Hostess Twinkie.
