Hyderabad: A software engineer belonging to Tesla allegedly suffered serious injuries after being attacked by a malfunctioning robot designed to move aluminium car parts at the company's Giga Texas factory near Austin, an injury report filed by the company said.
The robot pinned the engineer, scratching his back and arm, and inflicted wounds on his body. The incident, which occurred two years ago, was revealed in the 2021 injury report.
According to the report, the robot, used for handling fresh aluminium car parts at the factory, attacked the engineer who was programming software for robots. While two robots were disabled for maintenance, a third was accidentally left active, leading to the attack.
The attack left the engineer wounded, with a trail of blood on the floor. Fellow workers rushed to the engineer's aid and called for an emergency. The engineer somehow escaped but couldn’t balance and fell backward down a metal chute used for collecting aluminium.
The American automotive and clean energy company, Tesla has declined to comment on the incident. The company has been constantly criticised for its poor handling of workplace safety and accident reporting. According to information, the Giga Texas plant has shown a higher rate of injuries compared to industry average.
The data available with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) stated that nearly one in 21 workers reported being injured last year in Giga Texas, higher than the median injury rate of one in 30 workers in other industries.
Many workers at Tesla complain that the company often compromises on construction, maintenance, and operations, putting employees at risk. The report said that in 2022, a water-submerged-in-molten-aluminium incident caused an explosion in the castings area, resulting in a sonic boom-like sound.
Read More
