As part of a big presentation last week at the Warner Bros. In Burbank, Tesla showed the Cybercab robotic taxi, the Robovan passenger van, and the latest version of the humanoid robot Optimus. Initially, the presentation of new products caused a great stir on social networks. However, the praise soon turned to ridicule as Tesla and, in particular, its head Elon Musk began to be suspected of plagiarism.
Image Source: Tesla
Users noted the similarity of the design of the presented devices with the aesthetics of devices from the film “I, Robot” directed by Alex Proyas and starring Will Smith, writes The Hollywood Reporter. Adding fuel to the fire, Tesla dubbed the event “We Robot,” which is the title of the 1950 collection of short stories by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov on which the film is based.
Optimus, a versatile humanoid robot that takes its name from the Transformers character, does bear similarities to the NS5 robots from the movie I, Robot. But it was the fact that the unmanned Robovan passenger minibus presented, which looks like a smaller copy of the robot transport vehicle in the film, as well as the Robotaxi unmanned taxi, which bears resemblance to the futuristic Audi RSQ from the same film, caused merciless ridicule on social networks and even a reaction from Proyas himself on the social network X.
Image Source: X/@TheTeslaLife
«Hey Elon, could you give me my design back please?” – the director said on the social network, adding to his message an image with footage from the film and new Tesla models.
Director Matt Granger, who worked as Proyas’ assistant on the set of I, Robot, wrote: “I also want to say to Elon and his complete lack of creativity – fuck you!”