In a concerning incident at Tesla's Giga Texas factory in Austin, Texas, a software engineer suffered injuries after being attacked by a malfunctioning robot designed to move aluminum car parts.
The incident, which occurred two years ago, came to light through a 2021 injury report.
The robot, programmed to cut car parts from freshly cast aluminum, inadvertently attacked the engineer when left active while others were undergoing maintenance.
The engineer sustained wounds on his back and arm as the robot's claws pinned him, leaving a trail of blood on the factory floor.
While the injuries were reported as not severe, Tesla has chosen not to comment on the incident. The 2021 injury report exposes a potential culture of safety lapses at the Texas facility.
Despite no further robot-related injuries reported in 2021 or 2022, the factory has faced criticism for a high injury rate.
Reports submitted to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) indicate that nearly one in 21 workers at Giga Texas were injured last year, surpassing the automotive industry's median injury rate of one in 30 workers.
Current and former Tesla employees have alleged that the company compromises on construction, maintenance, and operations, placing workers at risk.
In 2022, an incident involving water submerged in molten aluminum caused an explosion in the castings area, producing a sonic boom-like sound.
The safety concerns raised by these incidents underscore the importance of stringent safety measures in high-tech manufacturing environments.