A social media claim emerged, particularly on platform X, suggesting a Tesla employee was gravely injured by a malfunctioning robot in their Austin factory.
Online images of humanoid robots fueled allegations, causing widespread concern and uproar.
But did this incident really happen? And what did Elon Musk say about this?
Recently, a claim emerged that a malfunctioning humanoid robot attacked a Tesla employee. But contrary to assumptions, the incident occurred over two years ago and was caused by an industrial robotic arm, not humanoid robots. In 2021, a software engineer programming industrial robots suffered severe injuries when a mistakenly enabled robotic arm pinned him. After this, Musk criticized the media for spreading misinformation.
Explained: What Happened at The Tesla Factory? How Did Elon Musk Respond?
In a recent social media uproar, a claim circulated that a Tesla employee in their Austin, Texas, factory was attacked by a malfunctioning humanoid robot.
Images of these humanoid robots, including Optimus, unveiled by Elon Musk, spread online, leading to widespread concern.
However, it was revealed that the incident occurred over two years ago, and the humanoid robots seen in the viral clips were not responsible.
Contrary to initial assumptions, the harm was caused by an industrial robotic arm, not the humanoid robots.
This revelation came from reader context in some posts on platform X.
The incident occurred in 2021 at Tesla’s Giga factory, where a software engineer was programming industrial robots designed to cut and move freshly cast aluminum car parts.
Two of the three robotic arms were disabled, but one was mistakenly left on, malfunctioning and injuring the Tesla employee.
The robot pinned the man to the factory floor, causing severe wounds with its metal claws. Fortunately, a quick-thinking co-worker pressed the emergency stop button, saving the victim’s life.
The federal and health authorities’ injury report detailed a deep laceration on the engineer’s left hand.
What’s striking is that despite the severity of the incident, the employee was not granted any time off, and Tesla has not issued an official statement.
Disturbingly, reports from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration indicate that 1 in 21 Tesla employees at the Giga Texas factory experienced harm in 2022 (via Mashable).
Also, as per a complaint to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Workers Defense Project alleged that several construction workers weren’t paid overtime wages properly, and some weren’t paid at all (via Reuters).
Elon Musk responded to media coverage, particularly a Daily Mail article with “attack” in all caps.
In response to a post by @WholeMarsCatalog on platform X, Musk emphasized that the term “attack” was misleading.
He clarified that the robot didn’t act independently but was programmed to do so.
Musk criticized the media for spreading misinformation about an incident that occurred two years ago, deeming it “truly shameful.”
The CEO of Tesla wrote:
“Truly shameful of the media to dredge up an injury from two years ago due to a simple industrial Kuka robot arm (found in all factories) and imply that it is due to Optimus now.”
Some people online have alleged that there’s a smear campaign being run against Musk due to his recent controversial statements.
However, others have said it’s just clickbait media looking for their next headline.
Which side are you on? Do you think the media is unfairly targeting Elon Musk? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.
