Elon Musk Says Humans Could Start Getting Implanted With Chips This Year

The controversial CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has said that Neuralink could start implanting chips into humans this year.

According to the billionaire, those with severe spinal injuries could be helped to start walking again thanks to the technology.

While speaking during The Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit, Musk said trials in monkeys have been successful, showing the chip is safe.

Neuralink just needs FDA approval to start testing the chip in humans. The company is looking to start human trials of its brain chip this year and people with severe spinal injuries would be the first to get the chip.

‘Neuralink’s working well in monkeys and we’re actually doing just a lot of testing and just confirming that it’s very safe and reliable and the Neuralink device can be removed safely,’ Musk said at the Summit.

‘We hope to have this in our first humans — which will be people that have severe spinal cord injuries like tetraplegics, quadriplegics — next year, pending FDA approval.

‘I think we have a chance of being able to allow someone who cannot walk or use their arms be able to walk again – but not naturally.’

Neuralink is a brain-interface technology company that claims to be less than a year away from implanting chips into human brains. The company’s system is comprised of a computer chip attached to tiny flexible threads that are stitched into the brain by a ‘sewing-machine-like’ robot. The device pickups signals in the brain, which are then translated into motor controls.

On April 9, 2021, Neuralink showed off its brain chip in a monkey, which let the animal play a game of Pong using only its mind.

The device in the animal’s brain recorded information about the neurons firing while it played the game, learning to predict the movements it would make.

‘Basically, the monkey looked normal, yet it is playing a video game telepathically, which I think is quite profound,’ Musk said.

‘Our standards for implanting the device are higher than what the FDA approves, just like our standards for safety are much higher than what the US government requires,’ he added.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.