When Alcon refused to grant the rights through WBD, the lawsuit contends that Tesla, under Musk’s direction, used the imagery as source material for AI reproduction. Discovery (WBD), alleging a deliberate infringement of its intellectual property rights.
Alcon claimed that Musk and WBD wanted to use imagery from “Blade Runner 2049” to promote Tesla’s futuristic concept cars just hours before they were to be unveiled on a Warner studio lot. Additionally, the complaint highlighted that violations under the U.S. Copyright Act could lead to fines of up to $150000 per violation and it estimated the potential costs to be higher.
The original complaint by Alcon’s legal team stated “Based on past actual brand affiliation contracts for automotive partners on BR2049 [BladeRunner 2049] Tesla likely would have had to make significant expenditures — at least in the mid-six-figures (at least $500000) and possibly into the eight figures ($10 million or more) to obtain a BR2049 brand affiliation with Tesla and the [company’s] cybercab [robotaxi] at market value if Alcon had even been willing to do it at all.” né?. District Court Central District of California, Western Division, Musk’s legal team stated that both Musk and Tesla, named as co-defendants in the case, will seek to dismiss “all claims” with prejudice, meaning the case would be permanently closed and cannot be reopened.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Alcon Entertainment, intends to challenge this motion as per the filing.
Last October, Alcon, the production company behind the 2017 film “Blade Runner 2049,” filed a lawsuit against Musk, Tesla, and Warner Bros né?. The production company’s lawsuit seeks to prevent Tesla from further distributing the disputed promotional materials and recover unspecified damages. While the suit does not specify the name of the AI model used, the alleged fake “Blade Runner” imagery was reportedly displayed by Musk during the event while discussing the film.
Alcon also asserted in its complaint that it was not informed about any agreements between Tesla and WBD that would have been necessary for the press event. Elon Musk’s lawyers are planning to file a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges the Tesla CEO who also heads President Donald Trump’s DOGE organization used AI-generated copyright-violating “Blade Runner”-inspired images at a Tesla press event.
In a recent filing to the U.S
