Austin, TX
Tesla engineer 'attacked' by automated robot at Texas Gigafactory
A newly surfaced report features disturbing details of a workplace accident that occurred at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas in 2021.
Company documents reviewed by The Daily Mail’s Matthew Phelan tell of workers witnessing a robot designed to move car parts grab one of their colleagues and sink its claws into his arm and back, pinning him in place. According to the report, the robot gouged an “open wound” into the worker and left a “trail of blood” on the factory floor. The engineer did not require time off, according to Phelan’s review of the injury report.
The news of the attack is just the latest breadcrumb along a long and dark trail of work-related incidents and controversies involving Tesla. The Elon Musk-owned automaker has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and organizing actions in recent years regarding its workplace policies and treatment of workers.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The company is currently two months deep into a bitter labor dispute with union workers in Sweden over Tesla’s refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement, and in September of this year, a federal lawsuit was filed against the carmaker for alleged mistreatment and discrimination of Black employees at its Fremont, California factory. In September 2021, Antelmo Ramirez, a 57-year-old contractor building Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, died of heatstroke while laboring at an unshaded work site.
“There’s a long history of citations by OSHA,” Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the nonprofit National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, told the Texas Observer in May. “We’re definitely well aware of Tesla’s history of apparent negligence towards their workers.”
Austin, TX
Texas coast braces for potential hit by Beryl. Storm is expected to regain hurricane strength
HOUSTON (AP) — Texas officials Saturday were urging coastal residents to brace for a potential hit by Beryl as the storm is expected to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
“We’re expecting the storm to make landfall somewhere on the Texas coast sometime Monday, if the current forecast is correct,” said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Should that happen, it’ll most likely be a category one hurricane.”
The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean islands earlier in the week. It then battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center predicts that Beryl will intensify before making landfall, prompting expanded hurricane and storm surge watches. Beven said a hurricane warning is expected to be issued Sunday.
The storm will bring a dangerous storm surge — flooding portions of the Texas coast — along with high winds and heavy rains in areas, he said.
“There is an increasing risk of damaging hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge along portions of the lower and middle Texas coast late Sunday into Monday,” the center said in an advisory, also warning that flash and urban flooding is likely in the eastern part of the state through the middle of next week.
Texas officials warned the state’s entire coastline to brace for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind as they wait for a more defined path of the storm. The hurricane center has issued hurricane and storm surge watches for the Texas coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande north to San Luis Pass, less than 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Houston.
On Saturday, Beryl was about 415 miles (670 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi and had top sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling in Taiwan, issued a pre-emptive disaster declaration for 40 counties.
Some Texas coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling on the July 4 holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
Mitch Thames, a spokesman for Matagorda County, said Saturday that officials issued a voluntary evacuation request for the coastal areas of the county about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston to inform the large number of visitors in the area for the holiday weekend.
“You always plan for the worst and hope for the best. I certainly don’t want to ruin the holiday weekend for our visitors. But at the same time, our No. 1 goal is the health and safety of all our visitors and of course our residents. I’m not so much worried about our residents. Those folks that live down there, they’re used to this, they get it,” Thames said.
In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to cut their trips short and return home early if possible. Officials asked residents to secure their homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to guard against possible flooding.
“We’re taking the storm very serious and we’re asking the community to take the storm very serious as well,” Corpus Christi Fire Chief Brandon Wade said during a Friday evening news conference.
Beryl already spread destruction in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados this week. Three people have been reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said.
Mexican authorities had moved some tourists and residents out of low-lying areas around the Yucatan Peninsula before landfall, but tens of thousands remained to tough out the strong winds and storm surge. Much of the area around Tulum is just a few yards (meters) above sea level.
The city was plunged into darkness when the storm knocked out power as it came ashore. Screeching winds set off car alarms across the town. Wind and rain continued to whip the seaside city and surrounding areas Friday morning. Army brigades roved the streets of the tourist city, clearing fallen trees and power lines. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
After seeing Beryl tear through the Caribbean, 37-year-old Lucía Nagera Balcaza was among those who stocked up on food and hid away in their homes.
“Thank god, we woke up this morning and everything was all right,” she said. “The streets are a disaster, but we’re out here cleaning up.”
___
Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writer Martín Silva in Tulum, Mexico, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Austin, TX
University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Institute for Electronics Unveils Executive Board of Directors
Austin, TX
Swim and Dine at the New Swim Club in Downtown Austin – Texas is Life
Grab your sunscreen and dine in an actual swimming pool at Swim Club, a swimming pool bar and restaurant, that debuted on June 24, 2024, in downtown Austin. The Austin bar Nickel City co-owner Travis Tober collaborated with Downright Austin hotel to open Swim Club, which is housed at the Downright Austin’s swimming pool, giving customers a way to swim, mingle, eat, and drink.
Have some lunch on a poolside lounger, soak up the sun on The Lawn, or sit in the sunken dining room with vibrant views of the neighboring pool. Swim Club boasts other fun areas such as Randy’s Radio Room, a disco lounge, and the Lawn at Swim Club with outdoor picnic tables and seating.
Enjoy the Miami decor and cool down with a cold-blended, innovative beverage and pizza straight out of the brick oven. The menu evokes memories of long summers, showcasing local foods, backyard grilling classics, and dishes roasted to perfection like fish tacos.
Vitals
- Address: 650 East 10th Street, Austin, TX 78701
- Web: www.swimclubaustin.com
- Hours: Sunday to Thursday: 11 am to 10 pm kitchen; 12 am bar, Friday and Saturday: 11 am to 11 pm kitchen; 2 am bar
Map to Swim Club
Featured image from Swim Club Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/swimclubaustin/)
-
News1 week ago
Toplines: June 2024 Times/Siena Poll of Registered Voters Nationwide
-
World1 week ago
Bolivia foils coup attempt: All you need to know
-
Politics1 week ago
The many faces of Donald Trump from past presidential debates
-
World1 week ago
Tension and stand-offs as South Africa struggles to launch coalition gov’t
-
Fitness1 week ago
Exercise may lower the ALS risk for men — but not women: new study
-
Politics1 week ago
Supreme Court rules to allow emergency exceptions to Idaho's abortion ban
-
News7 days ago
Video: How Blast Waves Can Injure the Brain
-
News1 week ago
Supreme Court denies Steve Bannon's plea to stay free while he appeals