‘I, Robot’ director Alex Proyas teases Elon Musk’s ‘We, Robot’ Tesla event

The Tesla Robotaxi | Photo credit: X/ @Tesla

Director Alex Proyas, known for the 2004 sci-fi film I, Robothas publicly mocked Elon Musk, accusing Tesla of copying designs from his movie for its latest robotic products. The criticism comes after Tesla’s “We, Robot” event in Burbank, California, where the company unveiled three new innovations: the Optimus robot, Robotaxi and Robovan. The internet was quick to point out the striking similarities between Tesla’s designs and those featured there I, Robot.

Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, drew comparisons to the film’s NS5 robots, while the autonomous Robotaxi and Robovan were compared to the Audi RSQ and futuristic vehicles seen in I, Robot. Although Tesla named the event after Isaac Asimov’s short story collection, which inspired the film, the similarities in design led many to accuse Musk of lacking originality.

Proyas took to social media on Sunday to mock Musk, tweeting: “Hey Elon, can I have my designs back please?” The post quickly gained traction, with many fans and industry insiders weighing in.

Filmmaker Matt Granger, who worked as an assistant I, Robotadded his own jab at Musk, tweeting: “I too want to offer my ‘f**k you’ to Elon and his utter lack of creativity.”

While Musk has yet to respond, the controversy has drawn attention to Tesla’s approach to design and its inspirations from Hollywood’s vision of the future.