Neuralink is Facing Investigation from the US Federal Government for Alleged Animal Welfare Violations

JAKARTA – A technology company owned by Elon Musk, Neuralink which operates in the field of medical devices, is currently under investigation by the US federal government. They were suspected of potentially committing animal welfare violations amid internal staff complaints that the animal testing was carried out in a hurry. This caused unnecessary suffering and death, reports a document reviewed by Reuters and a source familiar with the company's investigations and operations.

According to two sources familiar with the investigation, Neuralink Corp is developing brain implants that it hopes can help paralyzed people walk again and cure other neurological diseases. The federal probe, which has never been reported before, was opened in recent months by the US Department of Agriculture's Inspector General at the request of federal prosecutors.

The investigation, said one of the sources, focused on violations of the Animal Welfare Act, which regulates how researchers treat and test some animals.

The investigation came at a time of growing employee dissent about Neuralink's animal testing, including complaints that pressure from CEO Elon Musk to speed up development had resulted in a botched experiment. This can be seen in the Reuters report on dozens of Neuralink documents and interviews with more than 20 current and former employees.

“Such failed tests have to be repeated, which ends up increasing the number of animals tested and killed,” the employees said. Company documents include previously unreported messages, audio recordings, emails, presentations and reports.

Musk and other Neuralink executives did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

Reuters was also unable to determine the full scope of the federal investigation or whether it involved the same alleged problems with animal testing that employees identified in Reuters interviews. A spokesperson for the USDA inspector general also declined to comment.

Regulations in the U.S. do not specify how many animals a company may use for research, and they provide significant leeway for scientists to determine when and how to use animals in experiments. Neuralink has passed all USDA inspections of its facilities.

According to a Reuters report, all in all, the company has killed around 1.500 animals, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys, in experiments since 2018. Sources also called the figure a rough estimate because the company did not properly record the number of animals tested and killed . Neuralink has also conducted research using mice and rats.

The total number of animal deaths does not necessarily indicate that Neuralink violated regulations or standard research practice. Many companies also routinely use animals in experiments to advance human healthcare, and they face financial pressure to get their products to market quickly.

Animal Killing

Animals are usually killed when the experiment is over, often so they can be examined after death for research purposes.

But current and former Neuralink employees say the number of animal deaths is higher than it should be for reasons related to Musk's demands to speed up the research. Through several years of discussions and company documents, along with employee interviews, Reuters identified four experiments involving 86 pigs and two monkeys that were damaged in recent years by human error.

"The error undermines the value of experimental research and necessitates repeated testing, leading to more animals being killed," said the three staff and former staff. The three people attributed the mistake to a lack of preparation by test staff working in a pressure cooker environment.

One employee, in a message seen by Reuters, wrote an angry letter earlier this year to colleagues about the need to overhaul how the company regulates animal operations to prevent "hacking jobs".

Rushed schedules, the employee wrote, resulted in underprepared and overstressed staff scrambling to meet deadlines and making last-minute changes before surgery, ultimately increasing the risk to the animals.

“Musk has been working hard to accelerate the progress of Neuralink, which relies heavily on animal testing,” said the current and former employee.

Earlier this year, the chief executive sent staff a news article about Swiss researchers developing an electrical implant that helped a paralyzed man to walk again.

"We can enable people to use their hands and walk again in everyday life!" he wrote to staff at 6:37 a.m. Pacific Time on February 8.

Ten minutes later, he followed up: “In general, we're not moving fast enough. It's driving me crazy!”

On several occasions over the years, Musk has told employees to imagine they have bombs strapped to their heads in an attempt to make them move faster, according to three sources who have repeatedly heard the comments.

On one occasion several years ago, Musk told employees he would trigger "market failure" at Neuralink unless they made more progress, a comment some employees took as a threat to shut down operations, after hearing Musk's comments.

Five people who have worked on Neuralink's animal experiments told Reuters they had raised concerns internally. They said they had advocated a more traditional testing approach, in which researchers would test one element at a time in animal studies and draw relevant conclusions before moving on to more animal testing.

Instead, these people say, Neuralink launches tests in quick succession before fixing problems in previous tests or drawing full conclusions. The result: More animals were tested and killed overall, in part because the approach led to repeated testing.

Elon Musk's demands

A former employee who asked management several years ago for more deliberate testing was told by a senior executive that it was impossible given Musk's speed demands. Two people told Reuters they were leaving the company because of concerns about animal research.

Issues with the Neuralink test have raised questions internally about the quality of the data it generates. Such issues could potentially delay the company's bid to begin human trials, which Musk said the company wants to do within the next six months.

They also add to a growing list of headaches for Musk, who has faced criticism for his management of Twitter, which he acquired last October. Musk also continues to run electric car maker Tesla Inc and rocket company SpaceX.

The US Food and Drug Administration is tasked with reviewing company applications for approval of medical devices and related trials. However, the company's treatment of animals during research is regulated by the USDA under the Animal Welfare Act. The FDA did not immediately comment on the alleged violations. This report was disclosed by Reuters on Monday, December 5.