Elon Musk’s Neuralink test monkeys ‘were tortured suffering from brain hemorrhages, bloody rashes and self-mutilation’
NEURALINK, a biotech company from Tesla founder Elon Musk, is accused of torturing monkeys being used for testing purposes.
An animal rights group, The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has obtained records detailing the monkeys' abuse and has filed a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture.
Neuralink is reportedly developing a brain chip that would monitor, and even stimulate brain activity.
The company inked a deal with UC Davis in 2017 to develop the brain chip technology by testing with monkeys, as the university is known for its research facility for primates.
But PCRM is claiming the university withheld information about the treatment of the animals during the testing.
Jeremy Beckham, MPA, MPH, research advocacy specialist with PCRM, told The Sun via email there was skepticism about Musk and Neuralink's claims about the experiments.
"Our medical experts who had expertise about neurological experiments in monkeys were skeptical of the lofty claims being made by Elon Musk/Neuralink in the press at the time we submitted our first request (September 2020)," Beckham said.
"We wanted to look at the internal UC Davis records themselves, including videos and photographs, to get a better understanding of what was happening to the animals in the experiments as well as verify the integrity and promise of the research."
Most read in News
The animal-rights group also told that the records show monkeys experienced "extreme suffering as a result of inadequate animal care and the highly invasive experimental head implants during the experiments."
However, UC Davis emailed The Sun a statement in regards to the claims.
"The research protocols were thoroughly reviewed and approved by the campus's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)," the statement reads in part.
"The work was conducted by Neuralink researchers in facilities at the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis. UC Davis staff provided veterinary care including round-the-clock monitoring of experimental animals.
"When an incident occurred, it was reported to the IACUC, which mandated training and protocol changes as needed."
23 monkeys were involved in the experiments, which lasted from 2017 to 2020.
However, it's reported 15 of the monkeys either died or were euthanized by 2020.
The remaining seven monkeys were transferred to a Neuralink facility.
Beckham says the last of the monkeys were shipped in November 2020.
"At the time they were shipped to Neuralink, they were 'experimentally naïve' and hadn’t had any surgeries or other procedures performed on them," Beckham told The Sun via email.
"We have no information what happened to them after November 2020, and likely never will."
The monkeys may have suffered from “possibly from self-mutilation or some other unspecified trauma," according to the .
The outlet is also reporting that the records indicate some monkeys may have had holes drilled in their heads, and others suffered from bloody skin infections.
On its website, Neuralink states: "Inserting a device into the brain always carries some risk of bleeding. We are trying to reduce that risk by using micron-scale threads, inserted with a needle whose diameter is about the size of many neurons in the brain."
According to UC Davis, animal research is "strictly regulated."
"We strive to provide the best possible care to animals in our charge," UC Davis told The Sun.
"Animal research is strictly regulated and UC Davis follows all applicable laws and regulations including those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which makes regular inspections, and the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare."
Neuralink and UC Davis ended their relationship in 2020.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"We have no information as to why the relationship ended in November 2020, but it came to an abrupt end, and that does raise questions," Beckham says.
Neuralink has not yet responded to The US Sun's request for comment.
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at [email protected] or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at