Business
Published December 26, 2023, 2:26 p.m. ET
A Tesla software engineer suffered serious injuries when he was attacked by a malfunctioning robot on the floor of the electric car maker's factory in Austin, Texas.
Witnesses told the Information last month that the robot, designed to move aluminum car parts, held the engineer down and dug its metal claws into his back and arm, leaving a trail of blood on the floor.
The engineer programmed software that controls robots whose job is to cut car parts from freshly cast aluminum pieces.
While two of the robots were deactivated so the engineer and his crew could work on the machines, a third was accidentally left on – which witnesses said led to the attack two years ago.
The news site said it received an injury report that was submitted to both federal officials and health officials in Travis County.
According to the information, the engineer suffered a “laceration, cut or open wound” on his left hand.
A Tesla software engineer suffered serious injuries when he was attacked by a malfunctioning robot on the floor of the electric car maker's factory in Austin, Texas, two years ago. Austin American-Statesman-USA TODAY NETWORK
The injury was apparently not serious enough to require the employee to take time off work.
Tesla declined to comment.
Injury reports submitted to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration say nearly one in 21 workers at the Giga factory in Texas were injured last year.
In the automotive industry, the average injury rate last year was one in 30 workers.
Several current and former Tesla workers employed at the factory told The Information that the company regularly cut corners in construction, maintenance and operations in ways that put them at risk.
Tesla's Austin factory has reportedly experienced several security breaches in recent years. AP
Sources told the Information that management's demands for rapid production led to security lapses.
Witnesses reported that heavy machinery, including a crane, a steel beam and an air conditioning duct, fell near workers on automobile assembly lines.
Records reviewed by the Information showed that workers at the factory became ill after being exposed to toxins such as ammonia.
Last summer, an employee's ankle was caught under a moving cart, leaving him unable to work for more than four months.
Injury reports submitted to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration say nearly one in 21 workers at the Giga factory in Texas were injured last year. AFP via Getty Images
Days later, another worker was hit in the head by a metal object, forcing him to miss 85 days of work, according to the information.
Tesla employees at the factory said they saw forklifts colliding with workers on the assembly floor.
On or around New Year's Day 2023, water was accidentally dipped into molten aluminum used in the casting area that makes the underbody of Tesla's Model Y – causing an explosion that witnesses said sounded like a “sonic boom.”
The explosion sent a fireball and then smoke into the air and caused employees to run away in horror, the report said.
However, it is not known how many people were injured because that information was not included in the documents submitted to safety inspectors in Texas, the Information reported.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk's company began building the factory in the summer of 2020 after the mogul was outraged by California regulators restricting business operations due to the spread of the coronavirus.
Tesla began construction on the 10 million square foot facility in the summer of 2020 after CEO Elon Musk clashed with California authorities over COVID lockdown measures. AFP via Getty Images
At the end of 2021, Tesla officially moved its headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin.
Musk has said the 10 million square foot facility will help produce 20 million cars annually by 2030.
Construction work at the Texas site is ongoing. Tesla plans to employ 60,000 people there by the time the work is completed.
Tesla has said it will spend up to $10 billion to build the factory.
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