Science fiction has always been a genre to inspire and warn us in equal measure and 2004's “I, Robot” was no exception. In 2035 where self-driving cars are the norm, legions of robots have taken on menial tasks, and Converse All-Star sneakers are as fresh as ever, director Alex Proyas' messy action movie is solid. A hit upon release, it has aged surprisingly well – especially as our own reality has taken bigger and bigger steps towards a similar state. One can easily imagine Will Smith's old-school guard Del Spooner stubbornly rolling his eyes at our reality. Our own acceptance and overconfidence in AI. Of course, we don't Very much At the level of technological advancement envisioned by Proyas and authors Jeff Windar and Akiva Goldsman (to say nothing of the legendary author Isaac Asimov himself, who has written various books on film pulling), we're not far off either.
Now, if only we could lead better and more creative tech visionaries. In a prime example of truth truly being stranger than fiction, “I, Robot” once again grabbed the spotlight… but for the silliest of reasons. If any individual truly believes that they are the ones to lead us into this version of the future, it's Elon Musk. The public figure is no stranger to big ambitions, acquiring companies like SpaceX, Tesla and X (formerly Twitter), promising to take humanity to the “next level.” Instead of colonies on Mars, self-driving cars safely take over our roads, and social media platforms that are havens for free speech, however, we're stuck with instead. Three controversial businesses with a laundry list of problems and a rogue billionaire who thinks he's Tony Stark.
Well, let's just say that Iron Man isn't the one accused of blatantly ripping off designs from much smarter people. In a new tweet, Proyas mocked Musk for stealing various designs from “I, Robot,” and it's hard to argue with him. Musk's turn into Justin Hammer is well and truly over, folks.
Elon Musk's latest Tesla designs are very familiar…
Oh, delicious irony. The most famous scene from “I, Robot” that continues to go viral today is that moment between Will Smith's cynical detective and the super-intelligent robot Sonny (voiced and mo-capped by Alan Tudyk) in which the two discuss the nuances of art, inspiration and creativity. So, naturally, Elon Musk took note of the dazzling scenes from the 2004 movie, stored them in the back of his head, and then shamelessly copied them when it came time to design various prototypes at Tesla. Recently, Musk's car company unveiled a series of remote concepts at an event called “We, Robot” (which, after all, are not “autonomous”), a new “CyberCab” taxi, and a “Robovan” — all called “I, Robot.” ” looked just as shy as their counterparts in . Check out Broyas' tweet below, where his zinger reads, “Hey Elon, can you please take back my designs?” And quickly went viral:
Hey Elon, can I have my designs back please? #ElonMusk #Elon_Musk pic.twitter.com/WPgxHevr6E
– Alex Proyas (@alex_proyas) October 13, 2024
Of course, given Broias' well-established history of being completely unfiltered (most recently in trouble with the remake of “The Crow”), it's no surprise that the outspoken filmmaker is firing back at the debate. It helps that he certainly has a valid case here, and sets the record straight about how Musk's “innovative” designs have always been derivative. Apologies to all the cyberdrug owners out there, events like this don't do those ugly looking death traps any favors. Brighten up, the rest of us can have fun guessing which random sci-fi movie from the past 20 years Musk will try to rip off next.
