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Alcon Entertainment sued Tesla, Elon Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery after an image resembling Blade Runner 2049 appeared during Tesla’s October 10, 2024 Cybercab event, according to Alcon’s complaint. Alcon says it had refused a request to license a still from the film. In February 2026, a judge allowed Alcon’s direct copyright claim against Tesla and Musk to proceed past the motion-to-dismiss stage; that ruling did not decide whether infringement occurred.
What happened at Tesla’s Cybercab event?
Tesla presented its Cybercab at an event livestreamed from Warner Bros.’ Burbank lot on October 10, 2024. Alcon’s complaint says the defendants had asked to use an iconic still from Blade Runner 2049 to promote the vehicle. Alcon says it refused permission and objected to any suggestion that the film was affiliated with Tesla, Musk or a Musk-owned company. Alcon’s complaint, filed October 21, 2024, states the company “refused all permissions” and opposed any suggestion of an affiliation. That is Alcon’s pleaded account, not a court finding.
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The complaint says a different image, which Alcon alleges was generated using AI and resembled imagery from the film, appeared while Musk spoke about the Cybercab. Alcon alleged the image was shown for about 11 seconds. The image’s production process has not been established as a court finding in the sources available.
What Musk said about the film
In its January 2026 opposition filing, Alcon described Musk referring to Blade Runner while discussing the future imagined in science-fiction films. The filing quotes him as saying: “You know, I love ‘Blade Runner,’ but I don’t know if we want that future. I believe we want that duster he’s wearing, but not the, uh, not the bleak apocalypse.” This is the plaintiff’s account and quotation in a court filing.
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Why did Alcon sue?
Alcon Entertainment says it holds the relevant copyright rights for Blade Runner 2049. Its lawsuit claims that defendants’ alleged use of film imagery and the way it was used in Tesla’s promotion violated copyright and related rights, and could suggest a connection between the film and Tesla. The complaint names Alcon as plaintiff and Tesla, Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery as defendants. Its claims remain allegations unless and until resolved by the court.
The legal dispute involves distinct questions: whether protected film material was used in creating the event image; whether the resulting image itself infringed protected rights; and whether any use was legally permitted, including under fair use. Those questions are not interchangeable.
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What has the court decided?
On February 6, 2026, Bloomberg Law reported that U.S. District Judge George H. Wu denied Musk and Tesla’s motion to dismiss Alcon’s direct copyright-infringement claim. The report says Alcon could proceed on its theory that protected material was copied during creation of the image, without having to establish at this stage that the final image was substantially similar to the film. The ruling was at the pleading stage: it allowed the claim to continue but did not find that copying or infringement had occurred, decide fair use, or establish liability.
The sources available here do not establish a final disposition after that February 2026 ruling. The case’s ultimate result therefore should not be described as settled.
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What the lawsuit does—and does not—establish
- Established in the filings and reporting: Alcon filed suit against Tesla, Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery over an image shown at the October 10, 2024 Cybercab event.
- Alcon’s allegations: it refused a licensing request, the later image resembled film imagery, and the image was generated using AI.
- Procedural result: the direct copyright claim against Tesla and Musk survived a motion to dismiss, according to Bloomberg Law’s February 6, 2026 report.
- Not decided by that ruling: whether the image was unlawfully copied, whether the use was fair, or whether any defendant is ultimately liable.
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