What I, Robot tech has Elon Musk been accused of copying?

Alex Proyas, director of films such as The Crow, Dark City, I, Robot, and Knowing, has accused the high-profile businessman Elon Musk of plagiarism for Tesla’s recent designs. The current owner of X (formerly Twitter) is once again embroiled in controversy, this time for approving designs that appear to be lifted from the Australian-Egyptian filmmaker’s 2004 movie I, Robot, starring Will Smith.

‘Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?’ the director wrote on Musk’s X platform, sharing an image that compares elements from his film, like robots and vehicles, with the new designs unveiled by the tech company Tesla.

Tesla’s reasonable similarities with I, Robot

According to Proyas, some of the robots, vehicles, and taxis that Elon Musk presented as part of Tesla’s future technological projects bear a strong resemblance to those in his 2004 sci-fi film. To add fuel to the fire, Musk named his tech showcase “We, Robot,” further intensifying speculation about the source of his inspiration.

As shown in the image published by Proyas, the similarities between the designs from I, Robot and Tesla’s various projects are striking, provoking the director’s frustration. So far, there is no news of possible legal action by Proyas against Musk, though this is not the first time the billionaire has faced intellectual property accusations, especially since taking over the management of X.

Musk recently launched more tech, including Optimus, an assistant android that he claims will be “better” than Star Wars' R2-D2 and C-3PO, and the Cybercab autonomous robotaxi.