Elon Musk’s brain-interface company Neuralink is once again under fire following new allegations of “objectionable conditions or practices” identified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In the past, Neuralink founder Musk has claimed on his social media website X that “no monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant.” However, some Neuralink employees appear to disagree. The claims add to a controversy surrounding the company’s treatment of animals used in its experiments.
Concerns about Neuralink’s animal testing practices first caught federal attention in June 2023, prompting an FDA inspection. Congressman Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon and co-founder of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, also raised concerns. Blumenauer has long championed animal welfare legislation, advocating for bans on cosmetic testing and promoting research on animals’ emotional capacities.
In 2022, Reuters reported on internal staff complaints alleging that Neuralink impulsively conducted experiments, leading to unnecessary suffering and the deaths of pigs, monkeys, and other animals.
Following its investigation, the FDA recommended that Neuralink address several issues voluntarily, noting that the problems did not rise to the level of requiring formal regulatory action. In February 2024, a follow-up inspection revealed further concerns about quality control and record-keeping, though the agency has not confirmed whether these findings overlap with prior issues.
“While the company did receive citations related to documentation of its animal research, the FDA’s inspection did not find evidence of any violations that would undermine the device’s safety,” the FDA said at the time.
Human Trials, Animal Testing, and Technical Challenges
Outside of animal welfare and cruelty claims, the company’s experiments with its brain-computer interface technology, the “Link,” have also experienced malfunctions involving human tests.
Earlier this year, the company revealed that Noland Arbaugh, the first Neuralink subject implanted with a brain interface chip, experienced medical complications linked to the developing technology, including retraction of some threads connecting the interface to his brain. Neuralink stated they promptly addressed the issue, recently announcing that adjustments to Arbaugh’s chip algorithm successfully resolved it.
Neuralink’s public demonstrations have drawn significant attention since August 2020, when Musk introduced Gertrude, a pig implanted with a Neuralink chip, during a live-streamed event.
The company also showcased a monkey playing the video game “Pong” using only its mind—another ambitious display of its developing brain-machine interface technology.
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on The Debrief’s YouTube Channel on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton and at chrissynewton.com.