Iconic Movie Posters Reimagined by Tesla

Tesla designed a series of custom posters inspired by iconic, mostly sci-fi movies, adding a unique touch to their 2024 We, Robot event. Each poster was a reimagined version of a classic film infused with Tesla’s futuristic aesthetic. These posters weren’t just decorations—some captured Tesla’s vision of a tech-driven future, while others even showed off the Cybercab’s design before it was officially unveiled a few hours later.

Interestingly, despite the event’s title, there was no “I, Robot”-inspired poster. Given the event’s focus on AI and robotics, it would have been a fitting addition, reflecting the futuristic nature of the event.

We’ve compiled all the posters Tesla displayed at the event and even edited them for better quality. In this collection, we’ll walk through each poster and compare it to the original movie poster it was inspired by.

A.I. – E.T.

This poster, inspired by E.T., depicts a robot reaching out to touch a human hand, mirroring the iconic moment in the original movie where an alien reaches out. In E.T., the image symbolizes the bond of friendship between humans and extraterrestrials; here, Tesla reinterprets it to reflect the theme of We, Robot—a celebration of connection and cooperation between humans and artificial intelligence. Instead of the original moon in the background, Tesla swaps it out for Mars.

Robotaxi Driver – Taxi Driver

This poster draws inspiration from the iconic neo-noir classic Taxi Driver. In Tesla’s rendition, Elon Musk appears as an Optimus robot, evoking imagery of a Robotaxi navigating the bustling streets of New York City. It’s a clever nod to both the film’s gritty urban setting and Tesla’s vision for autonomous vehicles.

The Musk – The Mask

Inspired by the comedy superhero film The Mask, this poster features “Optimus Musk” as a playful yet formidable figure, ready to take on challenges while hiding behind a mask. While it may seem lighthearted on the surface, it subtly hints at the potential role Optimus robots could play in public service, perhaps even in support roles alongside law enforcement. Given that the Cybertruck has already been seen in a police configuration, the idea of Optimus units assisting in similar roles doesn’t feel too far-fetched.

My Neighbor Optimus – My Neighbor Totoro

My Neighbor Totoro, the beloved Japanese animated film from Studio Ghibli, explores themes of environmentalism through traditional Japanese folklore and spirit characters. This particular poster stands out as one of our favorites, as it beautifully connects to Tesla’s core mission—accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy. Just as Totoro celebrates a harmonious relationship with nature, Tesla’s vision emphasizes sustainability and environmental stewardship, making this homage both fitting and inspiring.

Bots – Jaws

This poster is much simpler, and unfortunately, we couldn’t find a higher-quality shot of the poster. However, Tesla cleverly reimagines the iconic Jaws poster by replacing the movie title with “Bots”, depicting a shark looming over an unsuspecting Optimus swimming in the water.

Master Plan Part IV – Back to the Future

This one, in Back to the Future font, says Master Plan – Part IV – along with a play on the icon movie quote – “Drivers? Where we’re going, we don’t need drivers.”

The film uses the license plate “Outta Time,” which Tesla cleverly swapped out for “Outagas”.

Tesla and Elon’s last big plan was Master Plan 3. We’re excited to see when Master Plan IV arrives in full, and we’ll break it down for you when it does.

Mad Musk – Mad Max

In a creative twist on the iconic Mad Max movie poster, Tesla reimagines the dystopian world with a futuristic edge. Titled Mad Musk, the poster features Tesla’s Cybercab in the background and Optimus/Musk as Max. Tesla replaced the original weapon with Tesla’s NACS charger. Tesla was not afraid to show off the Cybercab’s design before the official keynote, as this poster also leaked the design of the autonomous taxi.

Gasbusters – Ghostbusters

This Tesla poster takes inspiration from the Ghostbusters movie, though after sifting through countless images, it’s unclear which specific Ghostbusters poster it directly references. The closest we could find was Ghostbusters – Frozen Empire. Regardless, the design creatively reimagines the theme, swapping “Ghostbusters” with “Gasbusters” to highlight the shift away from gas.

The poster features Tesla’s robotaxi, outfitted with emergency lights mounted on the roof, replacing the iconic Ecto-1 vehicle. In a fun twist, instead of the classic Ecto-1 license plate, the robotaxi proudly displays “Robo-1.”

Optimus – Scarface

This poster is a simpler version of the classic Scarface movie. It features Optimus as Tony Montana against the classic black-and-white background. Along the left side, it reads, “Say hello to our little friend…”

While not all of these posters were profoundly deep, they were undeniably cool. These posters are fantastic tributes to cult classics and to our favorite company, Tesla. It would be a missed opportunity if Tesla didn’t offer some of these posters for sale in the future.

If we missed any posters or you have a higher-quality version of any of them, please let us know.

Tesla has drastically improved the connectivity portion of their app in the last year or two. Prior to these updates, if you want to start the vehicle’s climate system, you needed to open the Tesla app, wait for the vehicle to wake up, then press the HVAC icon.

Tesla then introduced “delayed” commands, which allows you to press the HVAC icon upon opening the app, and Tesla would then automatically send the command to the vehicle once it’s awake.

More recently, Tesla made it so the vehicle sends its most recent data to Tesla before falling sleeping, meaning that when someone opens the Tesla app, they’re looking at the most recent vehicle data, even if the vehicle is sleeping.

Now Tesla is introducing offline commands for newer models, letting users send a command to their vehicle over Bluetooth instead of relying on an Internet connection. The process is transparent to users, if the user is in close proximity to their vehicle, the app will send the command over Bluetooth, otherwise it will send it over WiFi or cellular.

Offline commands are faster and more reliable. When you press the button to open the frunk, it’ll now do this instantly, instead of waking up the vehicle first. However, it looks like not every model will be supported.

Legacy Model S / Model X

Legacy Model S and Model X vehicles – so any S/X produced before the 2021 refresh, won’t be able to use offline commands, at least at this time. A user reached out to Tesla Service to find out why their offline commands weren’t working, and a tier two Tesla service rep confirmed that this feature isn’t supported on legacy vehicles.

Legacy vehicles will continue to require internet connectivity for commands, except for unlocking the vehicle.

Legacy Model S and X unfortunately don’t receive the majority of features in recent updates due to various reasons. One of them is likely due to the smaller userbase and another is likely due to the vertical screen orientation that differs from the newer models.

However, Tesla has continued to support them with some features. It was confirmed that the legacy Models S and X will get Actually Smart Summon and potentially get access to Live Sentry Mode Cameras – a limitation that was previously related to the vehicles being unable to upload data live to Tesla’s servers.

This limitation for offline commands is likely due to a technical limitation preventing Tesla from implementing it on these vehicles, rather than any lack of trying.

Requirements

To use offline commands with the Tesla app, you’ll need to run version 4.38 or higher of the Tesla app. The most recent version is 4.38.5, which is available for Android and iPhones. Your vehicle will also need to be running update 2024.38 or higher, which is currently only available to about a third of the Tesla fleet.

You’ll also need to have one of the supported models, which appear to be the Model 3/Y, 2021+ Model S/X and the Cybertruck.

Future Support?

Tesla has committed to supporting legacy vehicles where possible, with other improvements for safety like improved Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking for MCU1 vehicles and FSD 12.3.6. It is possible that eventually, these vehicles may receive support for offline commands, but it won’t be likely, given Tesla’s priorities to get features working on the newer vehicles.

Tesla is updating the Model 3 and Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive variants with new battery packs. This new pack will replace the current BYD Blade pack in these vehicles. Its interesting to see Tesla making battery pack changes to vehicles, especially in light of recent news on Tesla working with its cell manufacturing partners and internally to make better batteries.

Let’s take a look at this potential upgrade that was spotted by @eivissacopter over on X.

The CATL 6M Pack

The new pack, which is likely replacing the current BYD 7C pack in the Model 3 and Model Y RWD variants, is going to be called the CATL 6M. The last time we had a CATL LFP pack in the RWD variants was back in 2021.

This pack will be bringing a 6% increase in overall capacity, from 60.1 kWh to 62.5 kWh. At about a 4% increase in energy, it’s not a huge jump, but the pack is also expected to bring improved charging performance due to a higher nominal capacity and voltage. Another benefit will be its reduced mass, with the new battery pack being about 44 pounds (20 kg) lighter. These items all contribute to range and charging performance, so we could potentially see a range increase in these RWD models.

However, Tesla previously software locked the extra 2.5 kWh to match the BYD packs that were being shipped at the same time as the CATL packs – which mostly just resulted in slightly improved charging performance and better battery longevity.

Pack Chemistry

This pack is an LFP – or Lithium Iron Phosphate. LFP packs have more stable chemistry, resulting in less degradation, but less energy density for weight. They also perform poorly in contrast to their NMC siblings in extreme cold or extreme heat. However, they can be charged to 100% all the time, and Tesla actually recommends this. We wrote about Tesla’s battery tech in detail, for those looking for more information.

There is a possibility that manganese will be introduced into this new pack. Manganese improves energy density, and also helps with low-temperature performance, which would help to mitigate some of the concerns with today’s current LFP packs in places that see cold weather on the regular, like Canada or the Nordic nations.

Release Date? North America?

This battery back likely won’t come to North America now, due to tariffs against Chinese batteries and cells. Customers in Europe, Asia, and other markets can expect to see these batteries in their vehicles sometime next year while Tesla works on other solutions to provide the North American market with a cost-competitive LFP pack that’s sourced from materials within the continent.