Musk’s Monkey Torture

Neuralink, the company Elon Musk founded in order to plant microchips in human brains, has been torturing monkeys. So alleges the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which this week filed a formal complaint with the USDA.

Specifically, the allegation is against the University of California Davis which has received more than $1.4 million from Neuralink to carry out some ugly experiments on 23 macaque monkeys.

Among other horrors, the monkeys had steel posts screwed into their skulls, suffered seizures and recurring infections following brain implants, and were subject to an unapproved substance known as “Bioglue” that destroyed portions of their brains. Some of these unhappy creatures had to be euthanized before they were even used in the planned experiments.

“UC Davis may have handed over its publicly-funded facilities to a billionaire, but that doesn’t mean it can evade transparency requirements and violate federal animal welfare laws,” says Jeremy Beckham, research advocacy coordinator with the Physicians Committee. “The documents reveal that monkeys had their brains mutilated in shoddy experiments and were left to suffer and die. It’s no mystery why Elon Musk and the university want to keep photos and videos of this horrific abuse hidden from the public.”

The brain-chip technology is intended to help paraplegics walk and perform other functions. Neuralink is already preparing for human trials, which Musk said could begin this year.

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