A robot in a Tesla factory pinned an engineer down and sank its claws into his back and arm, leaving a "trail of blood".
An official incident report revealed another worker was forced to hit the emergency stop button at the Texas factory to free their colleague from the robot’s grasp when he was unable to escape.
According to technology website The Information, he then fell "a couple of feet" down a chute designed to collect scrap aluminium.
The engineer is said to have suffered cuts that left blood across the Austin factory floor.
Tesla founder Elon Musk
PA
The engineer is not expected to take any time off work as a result of the incident.
The robot was one of three that should have been switched off to allow the engineer and his teammates to perform maintenance.
However, the robot was accidentally left switched on.
The report states the robot, which was designed to grab and move car parts, was running through its normal motions when the accident happened.
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Tesla has come under fire following allegations of under reporting
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Under Texas law, Elon Musk’s electric car company Tesla is required to report all incidents and accidents to authorities in Travis County, where the factory is located.
It is also required to report accidents and incidents to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA).
The robot ‘attack’ happened in 2021.
However, more recent reports suggest that one in every 21 workers at the Texas factory was injured in 2022, including a head injury that left the individual unable to work for 127 days.
Current and former employees told The Information the company cut corners and risked their safety.
Meanwhile, a lawyer representing contract workers at the Tesla factory told MailOnline she believes the number of incidents happening at the factory is underreported – including the death of a construction worker.
A Reuters investigation found at least 600 previously unreported injuries at Musk’s rocket company SpaceX.
GB News has contacted Tesla for a comment.
