Home ‘I, Robot’ director asks Elon Musk for his designs back after Tesla release

‘I, Robot’ director asks Elon Musk for his designs back after Tesla release

The director behind ‘I, Robot’ has called out Elon Musk just days after the CEO unveiled Tesla’s new robot offerings at an event called ‘We, Robot.’

The Australian filmmaker Alex Proyas directed the 2004 robot-focused movie which follows the character Del Spooner, played by Will Smith, who investigates the murder of Dr Alfred who works at US robotics.

As expected, the movie is laden with somewhat scary-looking robots and futuristic vehicles.

After the Tesla event was hosted on October 11, Proyas took to Elon Musk’s social media platform X just two days later to share images side-by-side of his movie and the new Tesla products.

The image features the robotaxi, called the Cybercab, which has no steering wheels or pedals. It has been designed to drive autonomously, although it requires regulatory approval before entering production.

It’s extremely futuristic in its design, with upward-opening doors and a compact cabin that only accommodates two passengers.

The new robovan is also included which is an all-electric autonomous vehicle that can carry up to 20 people at a time. It has been created to transport people around high density areas and is roughly the same size as a bus.

Elon Musk’s response to ‘I, Robot’ director Alex Proyas

While Elon hasn’t done a whole tweet reply to the director, he has made his feelings clear.

An X user shared a screenshot of a UniLad news article which accompanies an image with the words ‘I, Robot director slams Elon Musk for plagiarizing his work and the internet agrees’ and quote tweeted it with “Look at me! Look at me! I’m relevant!”

After another user jumped in to say the director “didn’t even bother to follow” the classic book, Musk replied to the thread with the ‘100’ emoji.

A few days earlier, when asked in a tweet about his design inspiration for the robotaxi, Musk replied with “Art Deco trains.”

Featured Image: Via Alex_Proyas on X

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Sophie Atkinson
Tech Journalist

Sophie Atkinson is a UK-based journalist and content writer, as well as a founder of a content agency which focuses on storytelling through social media marketing. She kicked off her career with a Print Futures Award which champions young talent working in print, paper and publishing. Heading straight into a regional newsroom, after graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism, Sophie started by working for Reach PLC. Now, with five years experience in journalism and many more in content marketing, Sophie works as a freelance writer and marketer. Her areas of specialty span a wide range, including technology, business,…

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