Elon Musk says first human has received Neuralink brain implant

Elon Musk said the first human patient had received a brain implant from his Neuralink company and that the initial results were “promising”.

The US Food and Drug Administration gave Neuralink permission last year to conduct its first human trials. The company hopes its technology will allow paralysed patients to control external computers using neural signals. Such technology could prove life-changing for sufferers of conditions such as motor neurone disease.

Announcing the first human transplant, Musk said the patient was “recovering well”, adding: “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.”

Neuralink is perhaps the best-known company working in the field of brain-computer interface, or BCI. Similar devices to the Neuralink’s chip have allowed disabled patients to type by thinking about keyboard inputs and to walk again despite being paralysed from the waist down.

Famously, in 2016 a patient was able to fist-bump Barack Obama with a robotic hand that he controlled with a brain chip.

Neuralink, however, not only wants to restore function but to enhance human capabilities. “We want to surpass able-bodied human performance with our technology,” the company has previously said.

The start-up, which is based in Fremont, California, said that during the study a robot would place the implants’ “ultra-fine” threads that help transmit signals in participants’ brains.

Musk, the 52-year-old entrepreneur whose other companies include Tesla, has suggested the implant could be upgraded, similar to how mobile phones receive software updates. “I’m pretty sure you would not want the iPhone 1 stuck in your head if the iPhone 14 is available,” he said at an event in 2022.

Neuralink has attracted controversy. In 2022 it was reported that employees had complained about rushed animal testing that allegedly resulted in needless death and suffering. Reuters said the company had killed about 1,500 animals in experiments from 2018, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys.

This month, it also emerged that Neuralink was fined by the US Department of Transportation for violating rules regarding the movement of hazardous materials.