As Tesla prepares to deliver its first Cybertrucks to customers, a new report paints a grisly picture of the Texas factory where the truck is being built, including a casting machine explosion and a robot allegedly goring a worker.
The Information reported on some of the gruesome incidents that have occurred at the Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, where one in every 21 workers was reportedly injured in 2022. The data comes from mandatory injury reports that Tesla submits to OSHA.
One incident in 2021 involved an engineer who approached a robotic arm that was supposed to be shut down, but was grabbed and pinned to the wall by the machine as it performed its programmed movements. A witness said the engineer was bleeding from his back and arms, and after someone pressed the emergency stop button, the engineer pulled himself out and fell into a chute, leaving a trail of blood.
An injury report filed by Tesla with Travis County, Texas, purports to show a robot-related incident, but does not clearly match the witness accounts. The report does not indicate that the person missed any time from work. In an unrelated incident in August 2022, a worker missed 127 days of work after his ankle was caught under a cart. A few days later, another worker suffered a head injury that took him off work for 85 days.
Other injury reports were more recent. At least one worker suffered a concussion after being thrown back by an explosion in the metal casting area around New Year 2023. The explosion was allegedly caused by water accidentally being mixed into the molten aluminium press machine. A witness who saw surveillance video said the blast sent a ball of fire and smoke into the air, damaged the mould and rolled up a door that seals the chamber. It’s not clear whether Tesla reported this to OSHA, which reportedly did not conduct an inspection for this incident.
Another worker claimed that the moulding machine also didn’t seal properly and often spat out molten metal. When a worker suggested a solution to the problem, he was told that shutting down the machine would slow down production.
In June, contractors installing metal grating for elevated walkways at the factory fell to the ground due to a lack of safety equipment. Some of the metal grating fell on them, leaving them with broken bones and a punctured lung. OSHA investigated the incident and fined the contractors.
It’s not the only time things have fallen from above: The Information reports incidents of air conditioning ducts, steel beams and other construction materials falling to the ground near autoworkers.
Tesla’s Fremont factory in California also has a torrid history of worker injuries. Workers there have a higher injury rate than the national average. Tesla has been accused of under-reporting injuries and failing to address hazards in an outdoor tent erected for the assembly line, and has been fined.
Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin is due to open in April 2022, almost two years after it was announced in 2020. Employees have described the company as having an “ultra-hardcore” work culture, with extremely long hours, unsafe working conditions and harassment.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has in the past opposed his employees’ efforts to unionise. He chose to build the factory in Texas, a ‘right to work’ state where it is harder for unions to organise workers. Meanwhile, Musk’s other company in Texas, SpaceX, recently ignored its workplace injuries.
