'Blade Runner 2049' producers sue Elon Musk and Tesla over AI image at robotaxi event

Question

A film production company that helped make “Blade Runner 2049” has sued Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk for using an AI-generated image resembling a scene from the science fiction movie to market Tesla’s new robotaxis.

Answer 1

Yes this headline is true. Not only is Alcon suing Elon Musk, but also Warner Bros because they hosted the event and produced Blade Runner 2049 and knew that Alcon was against the use of Blade Runner 2049 use surrounding Musk's company. Musk is known for some controversial statements and strong beliefs, which Alcon did not want to endorse so they are suing as backlash for misusing their copyrighted media.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/21/business/media/elon-musk-alcon-entertainment-robotaxi-lawsuit.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/10/22/elon-musk-tesla-blade-runner-lawsuit/

https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/blade-runner-2049-lawsuit-elon-musk-tesla-warner-bros-discovery-1236184961/

Answer 2

This ABC News headline appears to be true. Not only are many other websites posting about it giving it solid legitimacy but the Washington post covered it in detail.  The production company Alcon Entertainment stated that Tesla had gone to them for permission to use an iconic image from the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049 but declined to let them, in the end Tesla created an AI image with a similar look to the shot from the film. Claiming that at Elon musk and Tesla's AI image was copyright infringement of an iconic visual shot from the film Alcon Entertainment has filed a law suit with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, asking for damages paid and profits made from the image. So yes this is verifiably real, they have filed for law suit and reputable new sites such as Washington post have covered it in great detail.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/10/22/elon-musk-tesla-blade-runner-lawsuit/ 

Answer 3

The headline seems to be correct as multiple legitimate news sources such as The New York Times, BBC, and The Washington Post all wrote about the event, corroborating the ABC News headline. All three of the aforementioned sources support that Musk, Tesla, and Warner Brothers had reached out prior to the Tesla promotional event in order to use an iconic scene from the movie Blade Runner 2049 and that Alcon Entertainment, which produced Blade Runner 2049, denied that request. However, this denial from Alcon Entertainment changed nothing as Musk and Tesla would skirt it by using AI to imitate the scene, with Musk still even mentioning the movie by name during the event. It was this action that led Alcon Entertainment to file its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claiming that Musk and Tesla had infringed on their copyright. All of this is supported by multiple reputable news sites meaning that ABC News' headline is true. 

www.nytimes.com/2024/10/21/business/media/elon-musk-alcon-entertainment-robotaxi-lawsuit.html

www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3z37dpvl9o

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/10/22/elon-musk-tesla-blade-runner-lawsuit/

Answer 4

This is a true claim. Not only are many reputable organizations, such as The Washington Post, reporting the same headline of Alcon Entertainment suing Tesla and Musk, but I was also able to find a copy of the lawsuit itself through CourtListener.

Washington Post

Lawsuit

Answer 5

The story presented in the headline is true. The claim is that Elon Musk and one of his companies, Tesla, used an AI generated image closely resembling a shot from the film Blade Runner 2049 during an event marketing new Tesla products, alongside Musk making a direct reference to the film franchise. Other news outlets have released this story, alongside one of the details being that Tesla, Musk, and the film's distributor (Warner Brothers Discovery) reached out to Alcon Entertainment, one of the production companies behind the 2017 film prior to the event to use official imagery, to which Alcon declined. Since, Alcon have filed a lawsuit against Musk and Tesla, viewable on Courtlistener.com.