The Cybercab – Tesla’s planned $30,000 two-seater taxi – will have butterfly-style wing doors and no steering wheel, similar to the cars in Mr Proyas’s film adaptation of the 1950 book by Isaac Asimov, in which robots turn on their human masters. Mr Musk said mass production of the vehicle could begin in 2026.

The billionaire also showed off a new version of the company’s bipedal Optimus robot, which Mr Proyas suggested appeared similar to the “NS-5” robots which go rogue in his film.

However, while Mr Proyas suggested Tesla had been inspired by his designs, fans of the film also pointed out that the car driven by the protagonist in I, Robot, was based on a concept car designed by Audi, included in the movie as product placement. 

The film, set in the year 2035, stars Smith as a Chicago police detective sceptical of the seemingly friendly robots that have been created to serve mankind.