Factory Worker Sues Tesla For $51 Million, Claims Assembly-Line Robot Knocked Him Out

A robotics technician at Tesla’s manufacturing plant in Fremont, California, is suing the automaker for an eye-popping $51 million, alleging that an out-of-control robot struck him and left him with grave injuries. Now, the 50-year-old employee is struggling to pay the medical bills he racked up as a result of the incident.

On July 22, 2023, Peter Hinterdobler was apparently helping an engineer disassemble the machine, which had been moved from its usual spot on the Model 3 production line, according to a civil complaint reviewed by The Independent. While the engineer was trying to remove the motor at the base of the robot in order to get into its internal dress pack, its arm “suddenly and without warning released with great force.” The complaint says the release involved both the robotic arm’s own power and the force of an approximately 8,000-pound counterbalance weight. When the arm hit Hinterdobler, it reportedly caused him to be “thrown to the floor and to lose consciousness,” among other injuries.

Hinterdobler’s complaint says the robot was placed in an “area not designed for such equipment,” and soon after the incident, Tesla “implemented new rigging and safety protocols specifically related to the… robot involved in [Hinterdobler’s] injury.” It also says Tesla is responsible for “failing to ensure the robot was safely de-energized, secured, and stable” before Hinterdobler got his hands on it.

So far, Hinterdobler’s injuries have cost him about $1 million in medical expenses, according to The Independent, and that number is expected to grow by about $6 million as more procedures take place. All in all, he’s seeking $20 million for pain, suffering, and inconvenience, $10 million for emotional distress, $1 million for loss of earnings thus far, $8 million for loss of future earning capacity and $5 million for past and future loss of household services. All in all, that comes out to $51 million. These numbers are also apparently subject to change. 

That might sound like a lot of money, but it is, of course, a drop in the bucket for a company like Tesla with its $1.4 trillion market cap. Both Tesla and robotics firm FANUC are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which was initially filed in California state court in August before it was moved to Oakland federal court.