Hollywood director Alex Proyas has accused billionaire Elon Musk of copying his designs for humanoid machines and self-driving vehicles. Mr Proyas, who directed the movie ‘I, Robot’ starring Will Smith, took to X to allege that Elon Musk’s latest innovations bear a striking resemblance to the concepts from his 2004 sci-fi film. The director’s accusation comes after Tesla’s recent showcase of its Optimus robots and self-driving vehicle designs in Burbank, California. In his post, Mr Proyas pointed out similarities between Musk’s products and his own film’s futuristic technology. He shared side-by-side comparisons of stills from ‘I, Robot’ alongside images of Tesla’s Optimus robot, Cybercab, and the ‘robovan’ concept.
“Hey Elon, can I have my designs back please,” the director said in a post on X.
See the tweet here:
Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please? #ElonMusk #Elon_Musk pic.twitter.com/WPgxHevr6E
— Alex Proyas (@alex_proyas) October 13, 2024
Responding to a comment on Instagram, Mr Proyas credited his own “very talented design team” for creating the film’s visuals. He then added a tongue-in-cheek remark, implying Musk’s team lacked originality: “Elon Musk, on the other hand, has a not-so-talented design team who watched a lot of movies – including I, Robot, it seems.”
The film’s production designer, Patrick Tatopoulos, also weighed in on the debate and commented, “Maybe it is just me, or should I feel honoured that Elon found some inspiration in my I, Robot designs… Either way, it’s fun to watch.”
Notably, Mr Proyas’s film, based on Isaac Asimov’s book, features autonomous taxis and humanoid robots, eerily similar to Musk’s recent unveilings. The film stars Will Smith as Detective Del Spooner, a homicide investigator who harbours a deep-seated distrust of humanoid robots. The movie is set in a futuristic Chicago where robots have become an integral part of daily life.
In the film, Spooner is tasked with investigating the mysterious death of Dr. Alfred Lanning, a renowned robotics engineer. As Spooner delves deeper into the case, he uncovers a conspiracy involving the robots and the powerful robotics corporation, US Robotics.