‘I, Robot’ Director Claims Elon Musk STEALS His Ideas – As He Posts Incredibly Similar Photos Of His Sci-Fi Creations And Tesla’s
Elon Musk officially unveiled more futuristic Tesla devices last week, but it seems not everyone is excited.
Australian-Egyptian filmmaker Alex Proyas has accused the billionaire tech boss of stealing ideas from his 2004 film ‘I, Robot’.
On X (Twitter), Proyas posted photos of futuristic technology from ‘I, Robot’ next to three remarkably similar Tesla products: Optimus, Robovan and Robotaxi.
Proyas also included the message: ‘Hey Elon, can I please have my designs back?’
Robovan and Robotaxi were unveiled on Thursday at a Tesla event called ‘We Robot’ – a blatant reference to the film.
Alex Proyas posted photos from his 2004 film ‘I, Robot’ (left) alongside Tesla’s remarkably similar designs (right)
Tesla’s Optimus bears a striking resemblance to Sonny, the fictional robot protagonist from the film starring Will Smith (pictured)
Set in Chicago in 2035, ‘I, Robot’ features intelligent robots filling public sector positions in a dystopian world.
Tesla’s Optimus bears a striking resemblance to Sonny, the film’s fictional robot protagonist.
Meanwhile, Robotaxi looks a bit like Audi RSQ, a concept car with swinging ‘butterfly doors’ developed by Audi for use as product placement.
And Robovan is similar to USR Robot Transport’s stainless steel automated truck used to transport robots around Chicago.
Although Proyas directed ‘I, Robot’, the film was written by two American screenwriters, loosely based on the 1950 book of the same name by Isaac Asimov.
However, Proyas retained a degree of artistic direction in his film and claimed the designs as his property.
In response to the director’s post on Sunday, many commenters even praised Musk for bringing the designs to life.
One user replied: ‘Haha you should be honoured. He brought them to life.”
Another person said: ‘He (Musk) has been and always will be a fraud.’
Yet another wrote: ‘Be honored. What you did with CGI and a green screen, @elonmusk did in reality.”
In the photo the Australian-Egyptian filmmaker Alex Proyas. His directing credits also include ‘The Crow’ and ‘Gods of Egypt’
Tesla boss Elon Musk (photo) officially unveiled more futuristic Tesla devices last week – Robovan and Robotaxi
Det. Del Spooner (Will Smith) is shown driving Audi RSQ, a concept car developed by Audi for use as product placement in the science fiction film
Elon Musk unveiled the Robotaxi (pictured) and Robovan at Tesla’s ‘We Robot’ event last week
The USR Robot Transport is a sleek stainless steel automated cargo truck used to transport robots around the city of Chicago
Robovan, a large self-driving bus, has no interior controls, but offers enough space for twenty people
Pictured: Sonny, the NS5 robot from the 2004 science fiction film ‘I, Robot’, in which intelligent robots fill public sector positions in a dystopian world
Optimus, Tesla’s nearly six-foot-tall humanoid robot, can run at five miles per hour, deadlift 150 pounds and carry 45 pounds
Musk unveiled his two new autonomous vehicles, Robotaxi and Robovan, at Tesla’s ‘We Robot’ event on Thursday
Robotaxi has no steering wheel, pedals or rear window and just enough room for two passengers, who simply sit back and let the car drive itself.
According to Tesla, it will cost less than $30,000 and should go into production before 2027.
Meanwhile, Robovan, a larger self-driving bus, has no interior controls, but has enough space for twenty people.
Musk’s concept of “robo” transportation vehicles, first mooted nearly a decade ago, is a self-driving vehicle and an alternative to the manned taxis that line the streets of the world.
In the near future, passengers will be able to request a Robotaxi on Robovan ride via an app, similar to Uber or Lyft, and be transported from A to B without having to communicate with a driver – because there is none.
Tesla’s futuristic Robotaxi will have no steering wheel, pedals or rear window. The two passengers simply sit back and let the car drive itself
Pictured is the promo image for Tesla’s ‘We Robot’ event on Thursday – a blatant reference to ‘I, Robot’
The vehicle owner, meanwhile, could send their vehicle to make the trip, rather than having to get into the vehicle and drive it themselves, with the tap of an app.
As for Optimus, Tesla’s nearly six-foot-tall robotic humanoid designed to help with household chores was unveiled two years ago.
During the ‘We Robot’ event, a fleet of Optimus bots impressed guests by answering questions, serving drinks and even dancing.
However, it has since emerged that the remarkably human-like machines were controlled remotely by people behind the scenes.
Musk expects that the final version of Optimus released to the public will be autonomous and capable of menial tasks, but also offers friendship, describing it as ‘your own personal R2D2 or C3PO’.
“I think this will be the largest product ever,” he said, adding that he expected the robot to cost between $20,000 and $30,000 (€15,000 to €23,000).
The Tesla boss expects the bots to appear in households by 2027, although it’s always worth taking Musk’s estimated timescales with a grain of salt.
During the ‘We Robot’ event, a fleet of Optimus bots impressed guests by answering questions and serving drinks
Optimus could create an ‘incredible friend like R2D2 or C3PO’ from Star Wars (pictured) for the everyday user at home
Musk said in 2019 that he was “very confident” Tesla would have operational robotaxis by 2020.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s Cybertruck was unveiled in 2019 and didn’t become available to customers until November 2023.
The $80,000 Cybertruck is an ultra-resilient, all-electric pickup truck covered in stainless steel, although it faces safety and performance complaints from buyers.
Tesla has already announced but not yet released other products, including the heavy-duty Semi truck and the Cyberquad quad.