According to reports from foreign media, Tesla is currently entangled in a highly publicized lawsuit.

The incident occurred on July 22, 2023, at Tesla's Fremont factory in California. Peter Hunt Dobler, a 50-year-old technician, was crouched down, disassembling a robot on the Model 3 production line when the robotic arm suddenly released, striking him in the chest and abdomen with a force equivalent to roughly 8,000 pounds. He was instantly propelled into the air and lost consciousness. Medical expenses have already reached $1 million, with an additional $6 million required for ongoing rehabilitation.

In September of this year, Dobler filed a lawsuit against Tesla and equipment manufacturer Fanuc, seeking a total of $51 million in damages (approximately 363 million yuan).

According to court documents, the lawsuit directly highlights two major safety lapses: First, the robot was temporarily positioned in a 'non-designated area' without any surrounding barriers or confirmation that its power had been disconnected. Second, management failed to enforce the basic safety procedure of 'locking out energy sources before maintenance,' thereby exposing workers to operational and pressurized machinery.

The plaintiff's lawyer revealed that Tesla has so far refused to release surveillance footage from the incident, stating, "If proper safety procedures had been followed, an 8,000-pound steel arm simply couldn't have moved."

The $51 million claim includes detailed costs for suffering: $20 million for ongoing physical and mental anguish, $10 million for psychological trauma, $8 million for future lost earnings, $1 million for lost wages, in addition to the already incurred million-dollar medical expenses and litigation costs. Even more significant is the potential cost associated with permanent loss of labor capacity.

This is not the first lawsuit Tesla has faced due to robot-related incidents. In 2021, at the Texas Gigafactory, a software engineer was grabbed on the back by a metal claw while debugging a robotic arm, resulting in an open wound on his left hand. However, official records only classified it as a minor injury.

Data from the U.S. Department of Labor indicates that as of 2025, there have been 41 confirmed fatalities related to robots nationwide, with the accident rate rising sharply in workshops with higher levels of automation.

The case has not yet proceeded to trial but has already brought the safety standards of human-machine mixed production lines under intense scrutiny. In its preliminary response to the court, Fanuc denied any product design defects and emphasized that "users must comply with energy lockout procedures."

Tesla has not publicly addressed the specific allegations. Legal experts analyze that if the jury determines corporate gross negligence, punitive damages could significantly multiply the final compensation amount.

Currently, U.S. media are describing this incident as a 'robot attack,' despite it being a mechanical failure. Such terminology may heighten public anxiety regarding robot safety and could prompt regulatory authorities to further intervene and impose stricter regulations.