Alcon Entertainment alleges that it turned down a formal request from an event organiser for the use of a still image from the 2017 film, but a virtually identical AI-generated image appeared at the Tesla launch event anyway.

The complaint, filed in a California court, says the “faked image” appeared on screen for 11 seconds — “a marketing and advertising eternity” — for no reason other than to link the vehicle to Hollywood brands.

“It was hardly coincidental that the only specific Hollywood film which Musk actually discussed to pitch his new, fully autonomous, AI-driven cybercab was BR2049 — a film which just happens to feature a strikingly-designed, artificially intelligent, fully autonomous car throughout the story,” it adds.

Alcon alleges that the “financial magnitude of the misappropriation here was substantial” and that the event may have jeopardised partnership talks with other automotive brands.

It also said it had been unwillingly associated with what it described as Musk’s “massively amplified, highly politicised, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech”.

The lawsuit has been brought against Musk as well as Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBDI), which jointly hosted the event.