A production company for Blade Runner 2049 has sued Tesla, which allegedly fed images from the movie into an artificial intelligence image generator to create unlicensed promotional materials.
Alcon Entertainment, in a lawsuit filed on Monday in California federal court, accuses Elon Musk and his autonomous vehicle company of misappropriating the movie’s brand to promote its robotaxi at a glitzy unveiling earlier this month. The producer says it doesn’t want Blade Runner 2049 to be affiliated with Musk because of his “extreme political and social views,” pointing to ongoing efforts with potential partners for its upcoming TV series.
The complaint, which brings claims for copyright infringement and false endorsement, also names Warner Bros. Discovery for allegedly facilitating the partnership.
“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.”
More to come.
