Engineer Stabbed in Back and Arm by Robot
Eventually Escapes with Help from Colleagues
Various accidents have been reported at Tesla's Gigafactory production plant in the United States. In particular, attention has been focused on cases where workers were reportedly attacked by robots in some of the incidents.
On the 27th (local time), the British daily The Times cited injury reports submitted to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), reporting that one in every 21 workers was injured while working at Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin, Texas last year. Among them were workers who were unable to work for 127 days due to their ankles being caught in a cart, or who had to rest for 85 days due to head injuries.
Earlier, it was revealed belatedly that a worker was injured after being attacked by a robot at the Gigafactory, sparking controversy. According to the IT media outlet The Information, in 2021, an engineer at Tesla's Gigafactory was pinned against a wall and seriously injured by a manufacturing robot. This robot, which moved aluminum car parts, was supposed to be powered off while the worker was performing maintenance.
However, due to negligence, the robot was powered on and performed programmed movements, stabbing the engineer's back and arm with its metal claw. The engineer, bleeding from the wounds inflicted by the robot, tried to escape but was unable to move due to the robot. Eventually, another worker pressed the robot's emergency stop button, allowing the engineer to barely get free.
Meanwhile, Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk completed the Gigafactory in Austin, which began construction in 2020, in 2022. The plant covers 4.3 million square feet (about 400,000㎡) and involved an investment of $1.1 billion (approximately 1.4 trillion won). Currently, Tesla operates Gigafactories in various locations including Texas in the U.S., Berlin in Germany, and Shanghai in China. Notably, about three-quarters of Tesla vehicles sold in Europe are produced at the Berlin Gigafactory in Germany.
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