Elon Musk, founder of Neuralink, has announced that a third person has been implanted with the Link chip, stating publicly that it is “working well.”
During a live-streamed event on X from Nevada, Musk reaffirmed the company’s progress toward its goal of implanting the device in 20 to 30 participants by the end of 2025. “We’ve got now three humans with Neuralinks implanted, and they’re all working well,” Musk said.
Musk has consistently expressed optimism about The Link’s performance. In a recent appearance on Lex Fridman’s podcast, he stated, “I don’t want to jinx it, but it seems to have gone extremely well with the second implant. There’s a lot of signal, a lot of electrodes. It’s working very well.”
However, a few challenges have emerged as well. Noland Arbaugh, the first human implanted with Neuralink’s brain interface chip, revealed that 870 electrodes detached after the chip unexpectedly shifted from its original position within his skull. This unanticipated complication prompted Neuralink to adjust its algorithms and restore Arbaugh’s device functionality.
In September 2023, Neuralink achieved a significant milestone by commencing human trials and successfully implanting its brain chip in a patient for the first time. Arbaugh, a 30-year-old quadriplegic, volunteered for the procedure and demonstrated impressive capabilities, such as playing video games and chess using only his mind through the brain interface technology.
While Arbaugh’s achievements are groundbreaking, Neuralink has faced scrutiny over allegations of animal mistreatment. Claims of abuse have persisted since 2024, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identifying “objectionable conditions or practices” in December of that year. Reports include allegations that a monkey died as a result of testing with The Link.
Musk, however, has pushed back against these claims. Although the company has confirmed that monkeys have died during testing in the past, in a Sept. 10, 2023 posting on X, Musk said that “No monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant,” claiming that “terminal monkeys” were used in the company’s tests.
No monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant.
First our early implants, to minimize risk to healthy monkeys, we chose terminal moneys (close to death already),
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 10, 2023
Despite Musk’s assertions, some Neuralink employees reportedly disagree, adding to the controversy surrounding the company’s animal testing practices.
Neuralink has used rhesus and cynomolgus macaques as test subjects, species commonly employed in research due to their genetic and physiological similarities to humans. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, invasive and often fatal experiments were conducted on rhesus macaques at the University of California, Davis, between 2017 and 2020. The organization obtained records detailing these experiments after filing a lawsuit against UC Davis.
In 2021, Neuralink implanted its brain interface chip in a macaque monkey, demonstrating the animal’s ability to play the video game Pong using only its mind.
The ongoing controversy raises questions about Musk’s claims and Neuralink’s practices. If the evidence contradicts Musk’s statements about the safety of animal testing, it challenges public trust and calls into question the FDA’s confidence in Neuralink’s assertions that everything is “working well.”
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and founder of VOCAB Communications. She hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on The Debrief’s YouTube Channel. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton and at chrissynewton.com.