Robot Attacked Tesla Worker at Texas Factory

A Tesla software engineer was brutally attacked by a robot and experienced serious injuries as a result of a malfunction at the company’s Giga Texas factory in Austin, reports the New York Post.

The engineer was working on programming the software for two disabled Tesla robots when another robot, which was created to cut freshly cast aluminum pieces and move car parts, pinned him down and sank its metal claws into his back and arm, leaving behind a trail of blood on the floor, according to witnesses.

While the engineer was working on the two disabled robots, a third robot was left on accidentally, which led to the incident that took place two years ago.

The leading multinational car company has not reported any additional injuries linked to robots. However, this incident shines more light on existing deep concerns about the potential risks of automated robots in the workplace.

According to DailyMail.com, the injury report, which Teslas is legally required to provide to authorities to keep its profitable tax breaks in Texas, claimed the engineer suffered a “laceration, cut or open wound” on his left hand but didn’t need to take time off work as a result of the attack.

However, speaking to DailyMail.com, an attorney who represents Tesla’s Giga Texas contract workers said she believes, based on her discussions with workers, that many injuries suffered at the factory are going unreported. She added that this underreporting includes the death of a construction worker in September 2021, who was hired to help build the Giga factory in Texas.

Hannah Alexander from the nonprofit Workers Defense Project said, “My advice would be to read that report with a grain of salt. We’ve had multiple workers who were injured, and one worker who died, whose injuries or death are not in these reports that Tesla is supposed to be accurately completing and submitting to the county in order to get tax incentives.”

On behalf of the workers at the Giga Texas site, a complaint was filed last year by the Workers Defense Project with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) alleging that the company’s contractors and subcontractors gave some hires fake safety certificates.

Speaking to NBC affiliate KXAN, Alexander said, “Workers report that when they needed training, they were simply sent PDF files or images of certificates through text or WhatsApp in a matter of days.” She added, “There’s no conceivable way workers could have even taken the training required.”