The director of “I, Robot” accuses Elon Musk of plagiarizing his cybercab

The "We, Robot ” event, at which Elon Musk presented the Cybercab, the Cybervan and the Optimus humanoid robot, continues to be the talk of the town. The latest to criticize the event, albeit apparently with a touch of humour, was Alex Proyas, the director of the film “I, Robot”, who pointed out the striking similarity between the designs in his film and the one Musk presented.

From his profile on the X platform, owned by Musk, Proyas launched an ironic criticism of the businessman, demanding that he return his creations: “Hi Elon, can I have my designs back please”, wrote the Australian director, responsible for the story set in 2035 where robots rebel against humans and which starred Will Smith in 2004.

In the filmmaker's tweet, you can see a comparison between the designs in the movie and those presented at Musk's event, and the resemblance is incredible. Proyas' film was a box office success and everyone remembers exactly what those humanoids that Will Smith was so suspicious of looked like.

Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please? #ElonMusk pic.twitter.com/WPgxHevr6E

- Alex Proyas (@alex_proyas) October 13, 2024

There is an interesting comparison between Proyas' “I, Robot” and Walter Tevis' novel Mockingbird : both works present a dystopian future in which artificial intelligence and robots are deeply integrated into human life. However, while “I, Robot” focuses on the interaction and possible rebellion of androids, Mockingbird delves into the isolation and emotional decay of a society in which robots have taken over almost all human tasks.

We robots

Musk organized a Tesla “We, Robot” event, held last Thursday at a Warner Bros. space in Burbank, California. At the event, Musk unveiled his Optimus robots, including the Cybercab, an autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals that will begin production in 2027, with an estimated price tag of less than $30,000.

In addition, Musk unveiled the Optimus humanoid robot, designed to help with household chores such as walking pets or picking up packages. The robot is expected to be available for purchase by the end of 2024. Musk described Optimus as “a personal R2-D2 or C-3PO”.