Elon Musk’s Neuralink Says It Has Gotten OK to Test Brain Implants in Humans

Neuralink, the Elon Musk-run company working to develop brain implant technology, says that it has received approval from the federal government for human testing — but the Food and Drug Administration would neither confirm nor deny the claim on Friday.

“We are excited to share that we have received the FDA’s approval to launch our first-in-human clinical study!” the startup wrote Thursday in a post on Twitter, also helmed by Musk. 

“This is the result of incredible work by the Neuralink team in close collaboration with the FDA and represents an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people.”

Asked Friday morning for confirmation, an FDA spokesperson told The Messenger that the agency “acknowledges and understands” Neuralink’s claim of approval for human clinical trials. 

But, when then asked for clarification on whether the FDA had, in fact, issued such approval, the spokesperson declined further comment.

Neuralink did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the FDA’s stance.

Neuralink’s goal is to allow the human brain to interact directly with a computer via a neural implant.

The potential applications, the company says on its website, include the restoration of “autonomy to those with unmet medical needs,” including blindness and paralysis.

"We would initially enable someone who has almost no ability to operate their muscles ... and enable them to operate their phone faster than someone who has working hands," Musk said during a previous presentation on the tech.

Neuralink bills its “brain-computer interface” as “fully implantable, cosmetically invisible, and designed to let you control a computer or mobile device anywhere you go.”

Recruitment for the trial is not yet open, the company said in its tweet.

Neuralink has been the subject of several investigations, including a reported probe by the federal government that was started after reports of animal welfare violations.