Yasmeen Hamadeh
The director for I, Robot had a few words to say to Elon Musk after he unveiled Tesla's future plans at the 'We, Robot' event last week.
On October 10, the tech mogul hosted the event at the Warner Bros. studio lot in California where he debuted Tesla's upcoming self-driving Cybercab, Robovan, and humanoid Optimus robots.
While the event's line-up sparked mixed reactions, one thing a host of social media users seemed to agree on were the similarities between Musk's designs and the 2004 film I, Robot.
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Starring Will Smith, the sci-fi flick is set in 2035 and envisions a futuristic world where robots work in public service positions and operate under three laws to keep humans safe.
Shortly after Musk unveiled the Cybercab, Robovan, and Optimus robots, many were quick to note how similar they appeared to look to the robots and public transport in the film.
"The Elon Musk Tesla self-driving Robotaxi, Optimus humanoid Robot and Tesla Robo electric bus looks exactly like a movie I have watched some time ago," one user wrote on Twitter atop side-by-side comparisons of Tesla's products and stills from the film.
It now seems that the director of I, Robot, Alex Proyas, is also in agreement.
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He took to Twitter to call out Musk directly writing, "Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?," alongside another side-by-side comparison of the designs.
Some social media users have seemed to come to Proyas' defense, with one user writing on Reddit: "This was my immediate thought when the van rolled out. It looked just like the robot transport that attacked Will Smith in the tunnel."
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Another user wrote on Twitter: "The first thing I noticed about the Tesla event was the absolute lack of imagination to create anything that wasn't directly out of a sci-fi movie.
"I didn't realize how blatant the theft actually was."
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Meanwhile, others have come to Musk's defense, however, with one user on Twitter noting: "Imagine thinking you invented the wheel [because] you once drew a circle."
During the 'We, Robot' event, Musk unveiled his Optimus robots and described them as 'your own personal R2-D2 [or] C-3PO.'
"What can it do? It can basically do anything you want," he added. "It can be a teacher, babysit your kids, it can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks. Whatever you can think of, it will do."
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"I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind. I think everyone is going to want their Optimus buddy, maybe two," he continued.
The price for the robots is expected to be between $20,000 and $30,000, according to The Wrap.
UNILAD has reached out to Tesla for comment.