Social media erupts over reports Tesla robot ‘stabbed’ engineer
According to multiple media reports, including the one by Daily Mail, the Tesla engineer was attacked by a robot at Tesla’s Giga Texas factory near Austin in the United States. Read More
[Industrial (L) vs humanoid robot.]
Texas (United States): X and other social media platforms Wednesday December 27, 2023 were flooded with angry reactions after reports emerged claiming that a Tesla engineer was “stabbed” by a robot which turned rogue.
According to multiple media reports, including the one by Daily Mail, the Tesla engineer was attacked by a robot at Tesla’s Giga Texas factory near Austin in the United States.
The engineer was pinning two disabled Tesla robots when one intended for gripping and moving aluminium vehicle parts turned hostile, sinking its metal claws into the Tesla employee’s back and arm, leaving a distressing "trail of blood" across the factory floor, the Daily Mail reported.
The robot pinned the Tesla engineer to wall and sank metal claws in his arm and back, Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert, Andrew Eborn, told GBNews.com.
The 2021 injury report revealed this shocking incident, noting an "open wound" on the victim's left hand. Despite the severity, the report claimed the engineer did not require time off work to recover.
However, scepticism arises as an attorney representing Tesla's Giga Texas contract workers believes there is an underreporting of injuries at the factory, citing the unreported death of a construction worker in September 2021.
The concerns extend beyond the factory walls, reflecting the broader apprehensions about the increased adoption of automated robots in workplaces.
Official Record
According to the official documents, it was determined that a production robot pushed an engineer against the wall in the company's factory in Texas in 2021.
It was recorded that the robot was turned off while the engineer was performing inspection and maintenance, but then the robot took action and attacked the engineer.
It was also noted that the engineer was injured and bleeding after the attack of the robot.
Why Social Media users angry?
But what angered the netizens is that the incident occurred in 2021 and the robot was an industrial robot possibly manufactured by KUKA – leading robot supplier based in Germany.
The social media users are also enraged by the humanoid robot images that accompanied the media reports of the 2021 incident.
“What's infuriating really is that they post pictures of Optimus and talk about Tesla's deadly robot, when the completely unrelated incident occurred with an industrial (Kuka etc) robot BEFORE Optimus program started”, a social media user who post using X ID @ConnectingODots wrote.
“It is very clear they want readers to perceive it as the humanoid. Only thing left is to arrange pitchforks and torches and mob the mad scientist's castle Young Frankenstein style”, the social media added.
Some social media users added context to the media reports.
"Headline and image are very misleading. This incident happened in 2021 and has nothing to do with the depicted Tesla's AI powered Optimus Robot. It was caused by a regular programmed robot arm, responsible for moving cast aluminum car parts", it read.
Tesla unveils Optimus Gen 2
Optimus is Tesla’s humanoid robot.
Interestingly, the media reports of the 2021 incident of the industrial robot attacking the Tesla engineer appeared a day before Tesla unveiled Optimus Gen 2 - the second generation of its humanoid robot.
Optimus Gen 2 is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 121 lbs, which is 22 lbs lighter than the previous version. It can run at a speed of 5 mph, which is 30% faster than before.
Tesla is not the only company that is working on humanoid robots. However, Tesla has an advantage over its competitors in terms of mass production and scalability.
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