An engineer at Tesla’s Giga Texas factory near Austin was assaulted by a robot in a violent malfunction, leaving a disturbing scene of bloodshed, according to witnesses.
The machine, designed for handling aluminum car parts, trapped the engineer who was programming software for disabled robots, and gruesomely injured him by driving its metal claws into his back and arm, resulting in a visible ‘trail of blood’ within the factory.
The 2021 injury report, submitted to Travis County and federal regulators and reviewed by DailyMail.com, detailed the incident that left the victim with an ‘open wound’ on his left hand. While Tesla reported no other robot-related injuries at the Texas factory in 2021 or 2022, the occurrence raised concerns amid ongoing worries about the safety risks associated with automated robots in workplaces.
The injury report, a legal obligation for Tesla to maintain tax breaks, asserted that the engineer did not require time off work. However, an attorney representing contract workers at Giga Texas suggested that injuries at the factory are potentially underreported, citing conversations with workers and pointing out the omission of a construction worker’s death in September 2021.
The deceased worker, Antelmo Ramírez, suffered heat stroke while contributing to the construction of Tesla’s Giga Texas factory. The attorney from the Workers Defense Project, Hannah Alexander, questioned the accuracy of Tesla’s reports, alleging that injuries and deaths of workers, including those from subcontractors, may not be fully disclosed in the reports.
The employee, 28-year-old Michael Brockie, filed a personal injury claim against PwC for alleged negligence, having suffered a brain injury and been put into an induced coma in early 2019. He is still experiencing “persistent cognitive symptoms”, according to the claim.
This incident adds to a series of concerns over workplace injuries linked to robotics, including reports of injuries at Amazon shipment centers, incidents involving killer droid-surgeons, self-driving cars, and even violence from robotic chess instructors. The broader context of underreported injuries at the Giga Texas facility is underscored by allegations of false safety certificates and inadequate training for workers.
California OSHA investigators previously found that Tesla had misclassified on-the-job accidents to avoid regulatory scrutiny. The latest incident involving the robot attack further highlights safety concerns at the Giga Texas plant, where the reported rate of accidents exceeds the industry median.
While Tesla’s reports indicate a wide range of injuries, from blunt force trauma to chemical exposures, questions persist about the accuracy of reporting and the adherence to safety regulations. The construction pace of the Giga Texas facility, referred to as ‘Elon Speed,’ has been associated with lax safety measures, contributing to the higher rate of injuries.
Tax incentives totaling over $60 million, awarded to Tesla for selecting the Giga Texas location, are subject to compliance with reporting requirements. However, concerns about underreported injuries and deaths raise questions about Tesla’s fulfillment of its obligations in the economic development incentive agreement with Travis County.
{Matzav.com}
The stark difference between the headline and the article is telling.
The headline tells a story of robots violently rising to destroy their masters while the article terms a story of an engineer who got a boo-boo and needed a bandaid because he failed to engage a standard LOTO (lock out tag out) in a piece of heavy equipment he was working on.
It also mentions a heatstroke death of a subcontractor who was involved in the construction of plant and some speculation and attempted to create negotiating leverage by an attorney hostile to the company.
Sensationalism much?