Elon Musk’s Neuralink killed 1,000+ animals during rushed brain chip experiments: investigation

A federal probe into Neuralink's animal welfare practices was opened in recent months amid complaints that its animal testing is causing needless suffering and deaths.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink is under federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid internal staff complaints that its animal testing is being rushed, causing needless suffering and deaths, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and sources familiar with the investigation and company operations.

Neuralink Corp. is developing a brain implant it hopes will help paralyzed people walk again, blind people see and disabled people control technology without the need for movement. Co-founder Musk recently said he hopes that the Neuralink brain chip will be ready for human trials within six months.

The federal probe into Neuralink’s animal welfare practices was opened in recent months by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Inspector General at the request of a federal prosecutor, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation. The probe, one of the sources said, focuses on violations of the Animal Welfare Act, which governs how researchers treat and test some animals.

Reuters conducted interviews with more than 20 current and former employees of Neuralink and reviewed dozens of company documents that reveal complaints about CEO Musk pressuring employees to accelerate development, resulting in botched experiments and increasing the number of animals being tested and killed.

In all, the company has killed about 1,500 animals, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys, following experiments since 2018, according to records reviewed by Reuters and sources with direct knowledge of the company’s animal-testing operations. The sources characterized that figure as a rough estimate because the company does not keep precise records on the number of animals tested and killed. Neuralink has also conducted research using rats and mice.

Musk and other Neuralink executives did not respond to requests for comment.

The total number of animal deaths does not necessarily indicate that Neuralink is violating regulations or standard research practices. Many companies routinely use animals in experiments to advance human health care, and they face financial pressure to quickly bring products to market. The animals are typically killed when experiments are completed, often so they can be examined post-mortem for research purposes.

But current and former Neuralink employees say the number of animal deaths is higher than it needs to be for reasons related to Musk’s demands to speed research. Through company discussions and documents spanning several years, along with employee interviews, Reuters identified four experiments involving 86 pigs and two monkeys that were marred in recent years by human errors.