A software engineer at Tesla‘s Giga Texas factory in Austin reportedly suffered serious injuries in an incident two years ago when he was attacked by a malfunctioning robot designed to move aluminum car parts. The robot, which was supposed to be disabled for maintenance, reportedly left the engineer with wounds on his back and arm after sinking its claws, leaving a trail of blood on the factory floor. The incident was disclosed in a 2021 injury report.
According to the report, the engineer was programming software for robots involved in cutting car parts from freshly cast aluminum. Due to an oversight, while two robots were disabled for maintenance, a third remained active, leading to the unexpected attack. Although the engineer suffered an open wound on his left hand, it was described as not severe. Tesla has not commented on the incident.
While no other robot-related injuries were reported in 2021 or 2022 at the Texas factory, reports suggest a culture of safety lapses at the facility. Injury reports submitted to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) indicate a high injury rate at Giga Texas, with nearly one in 21 workers reported injured last year—significantly higher than the median injury rate of one in 30 workers in the automotive industry.
Current and former Tesla workers have raised concerns about the company’s approach to construction, maintenance, and operations, alleging compromises that put employees at risk. The report also highlights a separate incident in 2022 where water submerged in molten aluminum caused an explosion in the castings area, resulting in a sound described as a sonic boom.
Also read: https://newseense.com/robots-take-center-stage-a-year-in-review/
