An engineer reportedly suffered severe injuries when he was attacked by a malfunctioning robot designed to move aluminum car parts. The incident occurred at Tesla’s Giga Texas factory in Austin, Texas. The engineer was coding software for two disabled robots when a third one, which grabbed and moved the aluminum pieces, suddenly pinned him against the wall and sunk its metal claws into his back and arm. The attack left a trail of blood on the factory floor. The engineer escaped the robot’s clutches when another employee hit an emergency stop button.
The incident two years ago was revealed in a 2021 injury report viewed by the Information. The report described the engineer as suffering an “open wound to the left hand.” It did not require him to take time off from work. The engineer reportedly coded software for robots that cut car parts from newly cast aluminum pieces. The three robots were positioned next to each other on the manufacturing line. Two machines were disabled while the engineer and his team worked on them, but the third robot was accidentally left operational. As the machine ran through its regular movements, it pinned the engineer against the wall and pushed its metal claws into his body.
According to The Information’s sources, workers at Giga Texas regularly experience safety lapses due to management’s demands for fast production. Witnesses have detailed incidents where heavy machinery like cranes, steel beams, and even an air conditioning duct have fallen close to employees working on the car assembly lines. They have also recounted instances of forklifts colliding with employees on the factory floor.
A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The company has been under increasing pressure to ramp up production at Giga Texas and deliver the Model Y to customers, significantly after it delayed Battery Day by over a year. During the company’s Q1 2022 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk promised to increase production at the facility and deliver more cars in the year’s second half.
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