Dive Brief:
- A former Tesla employee is suing the company and robot maker Fanuc for $51 million after an industrial robotic arm allegedly threw him to the floor and knocked him unconscious while working on equipment. The incident took place July 22, 2023, at Tesla’s Fremont, California, facility.
- Robotics technician Peter Hinterdobler was helping a Tesla engineer disassemble a Fanuc industrial robot, when the robot’s arm “suddenly and without warning” struck the technician with the force of “an approximately 8,000-pound counterbalance weight,” according to a complaint filed in the Northern District Court of California on Sept. 19
- Hinterdobler allegedly suffered physical, emotional and financial harm, including approximately $1 million in medical expenses to date, according to court documents. He is seeking recompense for Tesla and robot maker Fanuc’s alleged negligence.
Dive Insight:
U.S. manufacturers are increasingly adding robots to their assembly and production lines in an effort to improve worker safety and productivity, in part by by making the robots perform dangerous or risky tasks traditionally done by humans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, this trend has also brought new risks to the workplace, including electrical hazards and unexpected worker injuries.
Researchers identified 77 robot-related incidents from 2015 to 2022 that resulted in 93 injuries, according to a 2024 report, citing U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration data. The injuries included finger amputations, as well as fractures to the head, torso, legs and feet.
At the time of the incident, the industrial robot had been relocated to a different area of Tesla’s Fremont, California, facility that was “not designated for such equipment,” according to the complaint. The workers were also allegedly “interacting with the robot in a reasonably foreseeable manner.”
“While the engineer attempted to remove the motor at the base of the robot in order to access its internal dress pack, the robot's arm suddenly and without warning released with great force,” the complaint reads.
Following the incident, Hinterdobler alleged that Tesla implemented new rigging and safety protocols specifically related to the Fanuc robot involved in his injury. He also believes that Tesla has video footage of the incident, but has not been provided access despite multiple requests, according to the complaint. The robotic arm caused Hinterdobler to be “thrown to the floor” and “lose consciousness.” Details of the injury were limited beyond that.
Hinterdobler’s complaint, originally filed July 22 in the Superior Court of the State of California in Alameda County, was moved to the Northern District of California in San Francisco on Sept. 19.
Tesla’s counsel has since sought to dismiss the case, arguing that California’s Worker Compensation Act’s “exclusive remedy provision bar[s] his claims.”
The Fremont location is one of the largest manufacturing facilities in the state, producing Tesla’s Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y vehicles. The plant has previously come under fire for allegedly allowing racial harassment against Black employees. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Tesla over the matter in 2023. The case is ongoing.
Requests seeking comment from Fanuc, Tesla and Hinterdobler’s attorney were not immediately returned.
