Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Mega-billionaire Elon Musk, his car company Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery are being sued by a Los Angeles production company for allegedly using artificial intelligence-generated images from "Blade Runner 2049" at a robotaxi promotional event without permission, according to court papers obtained Tuesday.
Alcon Entertainment alleges in the suit for copyright infringement filed Monday in L.A. federal court that Musk displayed the images at his "We, Robot" promotional event. The Oct. 10 showcase featured Tesla's self-driving Cybercabs, autonomous Model Y cars, a Robovan and the Optimus personal robot.
Alcon contends the artwork used by Musk bears an obvious resemblance to stills from the 2017 sci-fi thriller, the copyright of which is owned by Alcon. The lawsuit claims Tesla and WBD sought permission to use imagery from "Blade Runner 2049" hours before the Musk party, which took place on the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank.
According to the suit, the defendants used "an apparently AI- generated faked image" at the promotional event, constituting "a massive economic theft."
Representatives for Tesla and WBD could not immediately be reached for comment.