Reuters reports that Elon Musk’s company Neurolink is under federal investigation due to complaints by company employees that the experiments they performed on animals were rushed, causing them unnecessary suffering and death.
Reuters claimed that they had seen dozens of internal documents of the company and spoke to 20 employees who told about pressure exerted by CEO Musk to speed up development, which led to failed experiments, repetition of them and unnecessary harm to animals.
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According to the report, the company killed about 1,500 animals during the experiments that began in 2018, including 280 sheep, pigs, monkeys and mice. However, Reuters claimed that this was only an estimate, as the company does not keep records of the number of animals it killed during the experiments. The report claims that the number of animals does not necessarily indicate a deviation from the permitted procedures, but rather that the reason they died – Musk’s pressure – is the wrong thing.
To Musk’s relative defense, the report states that Neurolink employees claim that the treatment of animals in the company is better than in many other companies in the field. They described how Musk claimed several times that he did not like the use of animals, and that he wanted them to “be the happiest animals in the world” – as long as they lived.
In the report, it was stated that the investigating authorities in the United States and the company did not respond to the publication.
Last week it was reported that Neurolink received permission to implant its implants in humans within six months. The company is developing an implant that will be installed in the brain, and hopes to enable those who have suffered paralysis to walk again, as well as treat other neurological conditions. Musk claimed that the company had received approval from the FDA to proceed with the experiments in question.