(NewsNation) — Elon Musk criticized the media Wednesday over reports about a Tesla engineer who was wounded by a robot at a factory in Texas.
A 2021 injury report claims the robot, designed to remove aluminum car parts, dug its metal claws into the engineer's back and arm. At the time, the engineer was programming software for two disabled Tesla robots, the Daily Mail, which reported on the incident, wrote.
A witness who spoke to the Information in a story published last month said as another worker hit an emergency stop button, the engineer was able to make his way out of the robot's grasp. The engineer then fell a couple of feet down a chute designed to collect scrap aluminum, leaving a trail of blood behind, the witness said to Information.
Responding to a user who posted a screenshot of the Daily Mail story on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Musk said he took issue with reports using the word "attacks." In addition, the screenshot of the Daily Mail article has a thumbnail of Tesla's Optimus robots, and not the Kuka robot arm that Musk said was involved in the 2021 injury.
"'Attacks'” implies it made a decision," Musk said. "That robot did exactly as it was programmed to do. Apparently, the worker thought it was off when it wasn’t."
Added Musk: "It's truly shameful of the media to dredge up an injury from two years ago due to a simple industrial Kuka robot arm (found in all factories) and imply that it is due to Optimus now."
Musk had high hopes for the Optimus, Business Insider reported last year. When they were unveiled, the publication writes, Musk said the economy could become "quasi-infinite" if the Optimus was able to handle manual labor.
"This means a future of abundance. A future where there is no poverty, where you could have whatever you want in terms of products and services," Musk said at the time. "It really is a fundamental transformation of civilization as we know it."
However, Business Insider notes there have been other safety complaints at Tesla's factories, including California regulators saying in 2020 the company sent them incomplete factory injury reports. Another report by Caixin Global said a Shanghai Tesla factory worker died after getting crushed by factory equipment.