December 28th 2023.
A shocking incident occurred at Tesla's Giga Texas factory two years ago when a robot malfunctioned and seriously injured a software engineer. According to witnesses, the robot, which was designed to move aluminum car parts, unexpectedly pinned the engineer, causing him to suffer injuries to his back and arm.
The engineer had been programming software for robots responsible for cutting car parts when the incident occurred. Evidently, two robots were disabled but a third was left operational, leading to the attack. An injury report was submitted to federal officials and health authorities in Travis County, which detailed the serious nature of the injuries, although the employee did not need to take time off work.
Since the incident, the Giga Texas factory has been subject to safety concerns. Injury reports submitted to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration suggest that last year, nearly one in every 21 workers there experienced injuries, significantly higher than 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.
Furthermore, separate incidents have been reported, 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. At the start of 2023, an explosion occurred when water accidentally mixed with molten aluminum in the casting area for Tesla's Model Y underbody. Although the explosion was described as a "sonic boom", the safety documents submitted to inspectors did not disclose any information regarding injuries.
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. The company expects to spend up to $10 billion to finish construction, aiming to produce 20 million cars annually by 2030.
Tesla has not commented on the matter, which is concerning considering the number of safety issues that have arisen at the Giga Texas factory. It is essential that Tesla takes responsibility for the safety of its employees, and ensures that these issues are addressed before production can continue.
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