Tesla CEO Elon Musk Sours On Blade Runner 2049 After EV Giant Gets Sued Over 'False Endorsement' Accusations: 'That Movie Sucked'

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday slammed Alcon Entertainment‘s Blade Runner 2049 movie after the Los Angeles-based production company alleged copyright infringement during Tesla's robotaxi event.

What Happened: “That movie sucked,” Musk wrote about Blade Runner 2049.

That movie sucked

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 22, 2024

Earlier this week, it was reported that Alcon has filed a copyright lawsuit against Tesla and Warner Bros Discovery, accusing them of using an AI image generator to create promotional art for Tesla's "We, Robot" event that allegedly bears a striking resemblance to stills from the 2017 sci-fi film, the copyright of which is owned by Alcon.

The lawsuit claims that Tesla and Warner Bros. sought permission to use imagery from the film just hours before the event. However, Alcon denied the request due to concerns it would be construed as a “false endorsement” of Musk and Tesla. The production company cited Musk's controversial behavior, which they viewed as detrimental to their brand.

Despite Alcon's refusal, Tesla allegedly used shots from Blade Runner 2049 to create a stylized image displayed prominently during the event.

Why It Matters: Musk’s new comment comes as a reversal of a comment he made at the ‘We, Robot’ event earlier this month. Musk then said that he loves Blade Runner but would prefer a fun and exciting future instead of an apocalyptic one.

Late last year, Musk said that Tesla’s stainless steel Cybertruck is something that Bladerunner would have driven. In fact, Musk has made references to Blade Runner as long back as 2018 on his X account, formerly Twitter.

However, Blade Runner 2049 is a sequel to the 1982 movie Blade Runner and it is unclear if Musk is a fan of the original alone.

Tesla’s ‘We, Robot’ event held on Oct. 10 at Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s movie studio near Los Angeles was dedicated to showcasing Tesla's efforts in the field of autonomous driving and robotics. Tesla unveiled its 2-seater Cybercab and also a 20-seater Robovan at the event.

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Photo courtesy: Tesla