Director of I, Robot accuses Elon Musk of stealing his designs

'Can I have my designs back please?'

Alex Proyas directed the 2004 movie set in 2035 Chicago, where highly intelligent robots work in public service positions. The futuristic film stars Will Smith as a detective investigating a murder seemingly at the carried out by the robotic police force in the city.

But 20 years on from the film's release, Proyas reckons Tesla founder Elon Musk has been taking more than a little bit of inspiration from his robot designs in I, Robot.

In a post on X on Sunday, Proyas called out the billionaire, highlighting design similarities from his film and some Tesla products.

He wrote: "Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?"

Proyas shared pictures of the Tesla Cybercab, Tesla Optimus robot and Tesla Robovan next to stills from his film.

Musk has not yet responded to Proyas' claims.

I, Robot was a commercial success on its release, grossing more $347.2 million at the global box office. However, it was met with a lukewarm reception from critics, with the film holding a score of 57 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.