by Rafael Pena
December 28, 2023
A Tesla software engineer in Austin, Texas, reportedly suffered serious injuries after a robot malfunctioned on the factory floor.
A Tesla software engineer in Austin, Texas, suffered serious injuries after a robot malfunctioned on the factory floor two years ago, The Information reports.
According to witnesses, the robot, designed to move aluminum car parts, accidentally pinned the engineer, who injured his back and arm.
The engineer was programming software for robots responsible for cutting car parts from freshly cast aluminum. Two robots were disabled, but a third was left operational, resulting in the attack.
An injury report submitted to federal officials and health authorities in Travis County detailed the incident. Although the injuries were serious, they did not require the employee to take time off work.
Tesla has not commented on the matter, the New York Post reports.
The Giga Texas factory, where the incident occurred, has faced safety concerns, according to The Information.
Injury reports submitted to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration suggest that nearly one in every 21 workers at the factory experienced injuries last year, surpassing the automotive industry’s median injury rate of one in every 30 workers. Workers claimed that safety lapses were a result of management’s demands for rapid production, leading to accidents involving heavy machinery, exposure to toxins, and collisions between forklifts and workers.
Reports also highlighted incidents such as a moving cart trapping an employee’s ankle, resulting them in missing over four months of work, and another worker being struck in the head by a metal object, causing an 85-day absence.
In a separate incident around New Year’s 2023, an explosion occurred when water accidentally mixed with molten aluminum in the casting area for Tesla’s Model Y underbody. Witnesses described the explosion as a “sonic boom,” but details about injuries were not disclosed in safety documents submitted to inspectors.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk initiated the construction of the Giga Texas factory in 2020 after disputes with California regulators. The company officially relocated its headquarters from Palo Alto to Austin in 2021. Construction is ongoing, with Tesla planning to employ 60,000 people at the facility once completed. The company expects to spend up to $10 billion to finish construction, aiming to produce 20 million cars annually by 2030.
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