Bombshell report says Elon Musk’s Neuralink is under federal investigation for animal welfare violations

Federal authorities are investigating Elon Musk’s Neuralink for possible animal welfare violations. According to Reutersemployees have complained that the company rushes animal testing procedures, causing the animals involved to suffer and die.

Elon Musk co-founded Neuralink Corporation, a neurotechnology company, in 2016. The goal is to develop a brain-machine interface (BMI) that will connect the human brain to computers. Musk believes this technology will help people with neurological conditions, such as paralysis or severe motor disabilities, regain control of their bodies and improve their quality of life. The Neuralink implant is a chip that is surgically implanted in the brain. There it records the activity of individual neurons and sends that information to a computer. According to a recent presentation by Musk, the company is testing its technology in animals and plans to conduct human clinical trials within six months.

Reuters reports that the inspector general of the US Department of Agriculture has opened a federal investigation into Neuralink Corporation. A federal prosecutor has reportedly requested an investigation focused on possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act, a law that regulates research, testing and treatment on animals. The exact nature of the alleged violations and the current status of the investigation are still being determined, as the Office of the Inspector General has not yet released any additional information.

The investigation coincides with employee disagreements over the company’s animal testing practices. Reuters says it has reviewed Neuralink documents and interviewed more than 20 current and former employees, and many have complained that Elon Musk is pressuring them to speed up development, leading to more test failures and animal deaths. However, the allegations have not been independently confirmed.

According to Reuters, current and former Neuralink employees reported that animal deaths at the company are higher than necessary due to pressure from Musk to speed up the investigation. In addition, Reuters identified experiments on 86 pigs and two monkeys that were marred by human error, diluting their research value and forcing them to be repeated. Those who spoke to the news service claimed mistakes were caused by a lack of preparation and staff working under high pressure.

Reuters’ review of Neuralink records found multiple references to exploratory operations over several years — contradicting the company’s claim that it avoids such testing.

In addition, company discussions showed employees raising concerns about animal care chief Autumn Sorrells asking for changes to study descriptions in a way they said would be misleading, with one employee noting that the request was to make Neuralink “better optics.” to offer. .