Elon Musk Accused of Plagiarism by I, Robot Director

The controversy surrounding Elon Musk and its most recent technological projects gained a new chapter. Alex Proyasdirector of the acclaimed science fiction film “I, Robot“, released in 2004, accused the billionaire of plagiarizing the designs from his cinematographic work for Tesla’s new prototypes.

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Hey Elon, can you return my designs?

The uproar began after the presentation of Cybercab and Robovan, two autonomous vehicles developed by Musk’s company. During the cocktail party that followed the event, Tesla decided to use its Optimus robot as a waiter, instead of human employees. This demonstration, however, did not go unnoticed by Proyas’s watchful eyes.

The Australian director turned to X/Twittera platform also owned by Musk, to express his outrage. In a provocative postProyas questioned: “Hey Elon, can you give me my designs back, please?“. To support his accusation, the filmmaker shared comparative images between Tesla’s robot waiter and the autonomous police forces portrayed in “I, Robot”, in addition to comparing the Cybercab’s design with the futuristic vehicles present in the film.

It is undeniable that the similarities are striking, especially in the case of Cybercab. However, the situation becomes more complex when we consider that many of the designs for “I, Robot” were inspired by previous works, such as the classic “Metrópolis” and even the art deco style of the 1930s, as pointed out by several users of the website. Twitter.

Plagiarism or homage?

Interestingly, Musk seems to have recognized, albeit indirectly, the inspiration in “I, Robot”. The businessman titled his presentation conference “Us, Robot”, a clear reference to Proyas’ film. It is worth remembering that the film is an adaptation of the book of the same name published in 1939 by Isaac Asimov. It is in this book that the writer talks about the famous Three Laws of Robotics.

This controversy has reignited interest in a possible “I, Robot” sequel. In 2007, it was rumored that Ronald Moore was writing a script for a sequel, with Proyas expressing a desire to set the story in space. Who knows, in two decades, Musk will be looking for inspiration in this sequence for his future prototypes?

As the debate over originality and inspiration continues, it is clear that the line between homage and plagiarism in the world of technology and entertainment is increasingly blurred.

But what is your opinion on the matter? Do you think it’s really plagiarism or a simple homage by Musk to Proyas’ cinematographic work?