US Opens Probe Into Musk’s Neuralink Over Animal Testing, Reports Say
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, attends the opening of the Tesla factory Berlin Brandenburg in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Inspector General for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) opened a probe into Elon Musk’s Neuralink over employee complaints about animal testing, Reuters exclusively reported, citing documents the news agency reviewed and sources familiar with the investigation and company operations.According to the report, the company has killed about 1,500 animals following experiments since 2018. However, the total number of animal deaths does not necessarily indicate Musk’s company is violating regulations, the report said.Current and former Neuralink employees, the report added, have alleged the number of animal deaths is too high because of Musk’s demands to speed research.Neuralink has passed all USDA inspections of its facilities, the report said, citing regulatory filings.A spokesperson for the USDA inspector general declined to comment, the report added.
Neuralink Rival Synchron Announces Enrollment of First US Patients for Brain Computer Trial4 May, 20:59 GMTEarlier, Musk said that his neural interface technology company Neuralink is expecting to begin human clinical trials in six months.On November 30, during the company presentation, an experimental monkey was displayed. The monkey has had the Neuralink chip in the brain for about half a year and has not developed any side effects, Musk said.Neuralink focuses on the creation of the first two human applications: one that will restore vision and another one that will enable the movement of muscles in people who cannot do so.
