A Tesla robotics technician filed a $51 million (about 7.1 billion won) lawsuit against Tesla, saying a robot on a factory line attacked and seriously injured him.
According to the Independent (INDEPENDENT) daily in the United Kingdom on the 23rd (local time), Tesla employee Peter Hinterdobler at the company's Fremont, California, plant claimed that a robot in an out-of-control state struck him without any warning, causing serious injuries.
According to the report, he was helping dismantle a robot that had been moved from its usual position on the Model 3 production line. In the process, as he tried to remove the motor at the bottom of the robot to access internal components, the robot arm suddenly separated with great force, and the force of a counterweight weighing about 3,400 kg added to it, delivering a massive impact. Hinterdobler suffered serious injuries, including losing consciousness, from the impact.
According to the damages claim attached to the complaint, from this accident that occurred on Jul. 22, 2023, he has spent $1 million (about 1.39 billion won) in treatment expenditure to date and is expected to incur at least an additional $6 million (about 8.35 billion won) in expense.
In addition, he sought a total of $51 million in damages, including $20 million (about 27.8 billion won) as compensation for physical pain and discomfort and $10 million (about 13.9 billion won) as compensation for mental anguish. His attorney said the amount could change.
Hinterdobler also filed suit against Japanese robot maker Fanuc (FANUC), and the case has been transferred to and is underway at the U.S. District Court in Oakland.
This is not the first injury incident caused by a robot at Tesla. In 2021, there was an accident in which an engineer was attacked by a robot at the Giga Factory in Austin, Texas. At the time, the robot pushed the engineer against a wall and jabbed the engineer's back and arm with metal pincers. The victim tried to escape from the robot but failed, and was barely able to get out after a colleague pressed the robot's emergency stop button. The victim was reported to have suffered injuries severe enough to cover the scene with blood.
Fanuc, which was sued together this time, has also previously faced lawsuits over robot accidents. In 2015, a maintenance engineer at an auto parts plant in Michigan was caught by a Fanuc robot and died from a skull fracture.
Hinterdobler claims that in this incident Tesla placed the robot in an unassigned area and refused to provide footage from the time of the incident despite repeated requests. Tesla and Fanuc have yet to issue an official response.