Beginning in 2017, Elon Musk started funding the company Neuralink which he claims will create a brain implant that will make humans hyper-intelligent and allow paralyzed people to walk again. However, he has recently come under investigation by an animal rights group that asserts he has allegedly been sanctioning horrific experiments on monkeys. 


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From 2017 to 2020 scientists at the University of Davis in California have been attempting to experiment with monkeys' brains and understand how the device affects them. One monkey apparently lost a finger and a toe from possible trauma caused by the tests.




Another monkey had electrodes implanted in its brain and was put under intense stress. The report stated that the monkey was gasping for breath, vomiting, and, "appeared to collapse from exhaustion/fatigue." The monkey was reported to have died of brain hemorrhaging a few days later. 


Twenty-three monkeys were used when the brutal experiments began. All were experimented on and fifteen had died or had been euthanized since the beginning of the experiment.


This report was coupled with Musk announcing that Neuralink has been eager to begin human testing in 2022 and there was a job listing posted for a clinical trial.



The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is the nonprofit organization behind the lawsuit against Neuralink and UC Davis. They are accusing them of nine different violations of the Animal Welfare Act - A law designed to reduce animal suffering and experimentation. However, Neuralink uploaded a video recently of a monkey, apparently comfortable, playing a game on a computer. 


A UC Davis spokesperson stated, "We strive to provide the best possible care to animals in our charge. Animal research is strictly regulated, and UC Davis follows all applicable laws and regulations including those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture."


The spokesperson affirmed that, since 2020, they were no longer employed by Neuralink and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee had authorized and approved of the ongoing work with Musk's company.