'I, Robot' director accuses Tesla of 'copying' his idea

Alex Proyas, the director of the 2004 film I, Robot, starring Will Smith, has accused Elon Musk of stealing his movie idea in the design of the Tesla.

A few days after Tesla unveiled its self-driving Cybercab taxi, Alex Proyas posted on X: "Hey Elon, can you give me my design back?"

At the same time, he also posted a set of comparison pictures, showing the similarities between the Optimus humanoid robot, the Robovan self-driving truck, the Cybercab driverless taxi and his own movie.

Released in 2004, predating the unveiling of these Tesla designs, I, Robot follows Smith's character, Del Spooner, as he investigates a murder in Chicago in the year 2035 that appears to have been committed by a robot police officer.

Neither Musk nor Tesla responded to Alex Proyas' post, but IGN has contacted Tesla for a response.

Overseas netizens said that no matter what, these are very typical science fiction designs that have been seen in the media for a long time. Some netizens also said that these designs are not strictly the director's own, but those of the concept artists.

Some IGN readers believed that the reason why IGN reported this incident was not because Musk built a robot, but because it seized on the negative side of the news and reported it. IGN was criticized by readers as "stupid, partisan, and radical IGN."

An IGN netizen said: "This is simply fantasy, I am speechless. Similar designs decades earlier than "I, Robot" are everywhere. The robot is humanoid and inspired by humans. The van is inspired by vans and aerodynamics. The car looks more like a Tesla than the Tesla in "Robot World". There is nothing unique about either."