Elon Musk’s brain-machine interface company Neuralink is facing an investigation by U.S. federal authorities for violating the Animal Welfare Act, according to a Reuters report. Its internal employees allegedly claim that the company’s animal testing is so rude that it causes unnecessary suffering and death.
Neuralink is reportedly developing a brain implant designed to be able to help people who have fallen into paralysis get back up and walk, and to help patients heal from other neurological-like diseases.
The USDA inspector general initiated the previously unreported federal investigation process at the request of a federal prosecutor, two people familiar with the matter said. The investigation is focused on the company’s violations of the Animal Welfare Act, which governs how researchers should treat and test animals.
Reuters noted that more than 20 employees it interviewed said its CEO Elon Musk was too demanding for speed, which multiplied the pressure and led to failed experiments. The employees said the animal experiments, which could not be guaranteed in terms of quality, had to be repeated, leading to a sharp increase in the number of animals used in the tests and a sharp increase in the number of deaths.
In total, the company has killed about 1,500 animals after experiments since 2018, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys, according to documents and sources accessed by Reuters. Of course, that number is only a rough estimate; after all, the company doesn’t keep track of exact numbers.
Current and former Neuralink employees have said that a higher-than-normal number of animals died because of Elon Musk’s request to speed up the research. Reuters has now identified four experimental errors involving 86 pigs and two monkeys. Its staff said the errors reduced the research value of the experiments, so the need to repeat the trials, which also led to the death of more animals. The three sources blamed the “errors” on the unpreparedness of testers in high-pressure environments.
Over the years, Elon Musk has repeatedly told employees to imagine strapping a bomb to their heads to speed up research, the three sources said. On one occasion a few years ago, Elon Musk told employees that if they failed to make more progress, it would trigger a “market failure” for Neuralink, which one former employee interpreted as a threat to shut down the business.
Three current or former employees said Neuralink’s testing problems have raised questions within the company about the quality of the resulting data, and that those problems could delay the company’s plans to begin human trials, which Elon Musk has previously said the company hopes to begin within the next six months.
