**Elon Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery Face Lawsuit Over Unauthorized Use of Blade Runner 2049 Imagery**

In a dispute that was perhaps foreseeable, Blade Runner 2049's producers, Alcon Entertainment, have initiated a lawsuit against Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) citing copyright infringement. Alcon claims that their explicit denial of permission to use imagery from the 2017 film in Musk’s October 10 livestreamed Cybercab event on the WBD lot was blatantly ignored.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, criticizes the unauthorized use of footage from the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel to enhance the presentation of Musk's new product. Alcon's complaint describes the action as a "bad faith" maneuver by both Musk and WBD to attract a global audience by leveraging the Blade Runner 2049 brand. Specifically, Alcon alleges that on October 9, they denied permission to use any imagery or footage from the film, which was subsequently disregarded.

Alcon's filing notes an "apparently AI-generated faked image" resembling Ryan Gosling's character from Blade Runner 2049 was shown for 11 seconds during the Cybercab event. During this brief period, Musk awkwardly attempted to justify the relevance of the image to his presentation, with the lawsuit noting that he failed to provide a credible rationale.

The infringement has broader implications for Alcon, particularly concerning the upcoming Blade Runner 2099 television series on Amazon Prime Video. Associating the Blade Runner brand with Musk, known for his polarizing political views and erratic behavior, hampers the clean image that Alcon wishes to maintain for its properties.

Adding to the controversy, the lawsuit points out that any brand considering a partnership with Tesla must account for Musk's highly politicized and sometimes hate speech-tinged actions. Alcon explicitly stated they did not want Blade Runner 2049 to be associated with Musk or Tesla, citing Musk's extreme political and social views.

The burgeoning friendship between Musk and David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, comes at a financially precarious time for both their companies. Musk's purchase of Twitter (now X) for $44 billion has seen the platform's value plummet by nearly 80%, while WBD's stock continues to hit record lows. Despite this, WBD did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit. Meanwhile, Musk faces additional legal challenges pertaining to his recent vow to distribute $1 million daily to a registered voter until Election Day, a promise encountering significant political and legal obstacles.