Tesla Fails to End ‘Blade Runner’ Suit Over AI Robotaxi Image

Feb. 6, 2026, 7:01 PM UTC

Tesla Inc. and Elon Musk failed to convince a California federal judge to end a copyright suit alleging they used an AI-generated image derived from Alcon Entertainment LLC’s “Blade Runner 2049” movie to promote Tesla’s planned Cybercab.

Alcon can move forward with its claim that Tesla copied protected material directly in the process of creating the image, a theory Judge George H. Wu said doesn’t require comparing how similar the final image looks to the film at this stage in the case. Wu on Thursday adopted his earlier tentative ruling in the US District Court for the Central District of ...

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