A Tesla software engineer was attacked by a robot at Tesla's Giga Texas factory in Austin when a third robot that had not been disabled pinned him and sank its metal claws into his back and arm, causing lacerations.
- Date of incident
- 2021-12-31
- Location
- Austin, Texas, USA
- Sources
- 13
How the event developed
- 2023-12-26Report
A Tesla software engineer was attacked by a robot at Tesla's Giga Texas factory in Austin when a third robot that had not been disabled pinned him and sank its metal claws into his back and arm, causing lacerations.
nypost.com - 2023-12-26Follow-up
A robot at Tesla's Texas factory attacked an engineer in 2021, pinning him and causing serious injuries to his back and arm during a maintenance operation in which the robot was inadvertently left active.
oecd.ai - 2023-12-27Follow-up
A Tesla engineer programming software for disabled car-making robots at Giga Texas was picked up by one of the robots, which grabbed him by the back and arm and cut his hand before he fell down a scrap aluminum chute.
carscoops.com - 2023-12-27Follow-up
A Tesla engineer was pinned against a wall by a robot's claws at Tesla's Giga Texas factory in 2021, sustaining lacerations to his back and arm and falling into a scrap metal chute while escaping.
news.sky.com - 2023-12-27Follow-up
An engineer at Tesla's Giga Texas factory was pinned and clawed by a malfunctioning robot while disabling programming for nearby robots, sustaining a laceration to his hand and leaving blood on the factory floor.
unilad.com - 2023-12-28Follow-up
A Kuka robot arm at Tesla's Giga Texas factory injured an engineer in 2021, an incident that was reported by the Daily Mail in December 2023 with misleading imagery suggesting Tesla's Optimus robot was responsible.
teslarati.com - 2023-12-28Follow-up
Robot arm injured an engineer at a Tesla plant, leaving a trail of blood
wsoctv.com - 2023-12-28Follow-up
A Tesla robot designed to grasp and move aluminium vehicle parts attacked an engineer at the Giga Texas factory in Austin, sinking its claws into the worker's back and arm and leaving an open wound on his left hand, as documented in a 2021 injury report.
geo.tv - 2023-12-28Follow-up
A Tesla robot violently malfunctioned at the company's Texas factory, attacking an engineer and leaving a trail of blood, forcing workers to hit an emergency shutdown button.
dailymail.com - 2023-12-28Follow-up
A Kuka robot arm at Tesla's Giga Texas factory pinned an engineer against a surface with its claws, causing bleeding from the engineer's back and arm, after the engineer began working on three robots while one remained powered on.
indiatoday.in - 2023-12-28Follow-up
A KUKA robotic arm at Tesla's Giga Texas factory pinned an engineer against a wall with its claw, drawing blood from his back and arm, and he fell down a scrap metal chute after breaking free.
greenmatters.com - 2023-12-28Follow-up
Elon Musk publicly criticizes media coverage of a reported Tesla robot injury incident
newsnationnow.com - 2025-09-26Lawsuit
A Tesla factory worker, Peter Hinterdobler, was seriously injured in 2023 when a robot arm swung without warning and struck him while he was dismantling the machine, resulting in over $1 million in medical costs and a $51 million lawsuit against Tesla.
finance.yahoo.com
Every claim above traces to one of these
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- nypost.comA Tesla software engineer was attacked by a robot at Tesla's Giga Texas factory in Austin when a third robot that had not been disabled pinned him and sank its metal claws into his back and arm, causing lacerations.2023-12-26tier 2
- oecd.aiA robot at Tesla's Texas factory attacked an engineer in 2021, pinning him and causing serious injuries to his back and arm during a maintenance operation in which the robot was inadvertently left active.2023-12-26tier 2
- carscoops.comA Tesla engineer programming software for disabled car-making robots at Giga Texas was picked up by one of the robots, which grabbed him by the back and arm and cut his hand before he fell down a scrap aluminum chute.2023-12-27tier 2
- news.sky.comA Tesla engineer was pinned against a wall by a robot's claws at Tesla's Giga Texas factory in 2021, sustaining lacerations to his back and arm and falling into a scrap metal chute while escaping.2023-12-27tier 2
- unilad.comAn engineer at Tesla's Giga Texas factory was pinned and clawed by a malfunctioning robot while disabling programming for nearby robots, sustaining a laceration to his hand and leaving blood on the factory floor.2023-12-27tier 2
- teslarati.comA Kuka robot arm at Tesla's Giga Texas factory injured an engineer in 2021, an incident that was reported by the Daily Mail in December 2023 with misleading imagery suggesting Tesla's Optimus robot was responsible.2023-12-28tier 2
- wsoctv.comRobot arm injured an engineer at a Tesla plant, leaving a trail of blood2023-12-28tier 2
- geo.tvA Tesla robot designed to grasp and move aluminium vehicle parts attacked an engineer at the Giga Texas factory in Austin, sinking its claws into the worker's back and arm and leaving an open wound on his left hand, as documented in a 2021 injury report.2023-12-28tier 2
- dailymail.comA Tesla robot violently malfunctioned at the company's Texas factory, attacking an engineer and leaving a trail of blood, forcing workers to hit an emergency shutdown button.2023-12-28tier 2
- indiatoday.inA Kuka robot arm at Tesla's Giga Texas factory pinned an engineer against a surface with its claws, causing bleeding from the engineer's back and arm, after the engineer began working on three robots while one remained powered on.2023-12-28tier 2
- greenmatters.comA KUKA robotic arm at Tesla's Giga Texas factory pinned an engineer against a wall with its claw, drawing blood from his back and arm, and he fell down a scrap metal chute after breaking free.2023-12-28tier 2
- newsnationnow.comElon Musk publicly criticizes media coverage of a reported Tesla robot injury incident2023-12-28tier 2
- finance.yahoo.comA Tesla factory worker, Peter Hinterdobler, was seriously injured in 2023 when a robot arm swung without warning and struck him while he was dismantling the machine, resulting in over $1 million in medical costs and a $51 million lawsuit against Tesla.2025-09-26tier 2
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