One of Tesla’s manufacturing robots attacked an engineer at the Texas Gigafactory and left behind a ‘trail of blood,” according to a report from Daily Mail.
Reportedly, a 2021 injury report that was resurfaced by the outlet stated that two employees saw a Tesla engineer get attacked by the robot (via Daily Mail):
“Two witnesses watched in horror as their fellow employee was attacked by the machine designed to grab and move freshly cast aluminum car parts.
The robot had pinned the man, who was then programming software for two disabled Tesla robots nearby, before sinking its metal claws into the worker’s back and arm, leaving a ‘trail of blood’ along the factory surface.
The incident – which left the victim with an ‘open wound’ on his left hand – was revealed in a 2021 injury report filed to Travis county and federal regulators, which has been reviewed by DailyMail.com.
The injury report, which Tesla must submit to authorities by law to maintain its lucrative tax breaks in Texas, claimed the engineer did not require time off of work.”
One attorney representing contract workers at Tesla’s Giga Texas told the outlet that she believes the number of injuries occurring is underreported.
“My advice would be to read that report with a grain of salt,” the attorney, Hannah Alexander of the Workers Defense Project, told the outlet.
“We’ve had multiple workers who were injured,’ Alexander said, “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 to get tax incentives.”
Alexander noted that on Sept. 28, 2021, a construction worker who was contracted to help build the factory, died. Reportedly, the worker, Antelmo Ramirez, died of heat stroke.
Daily Mail noted that the incident came to light “amid years of heightened concerns over the risks of automated robots in the workplace.”
“Reports of increased injuries due to robotic coworkers at Amazon shipment centers, killer droid-surgeons, self-driving cars, and even violence from robotic chess instructors, have led some to question speedy integration of the new tech,” the report added.
In October, Townhall reported how officials in California announced that the DMV had suspended permits for General Motors’ autonomous vehicles operating in San Francisco. This decision occurred after the self-driving vehicles were involved in several crashes, some involving pedestrians. In one instance, a car pulled a pedestrian “approximately 20 feet.”
