• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream

3

Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream

3

Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
TechNeuralink

A major medical ethics group just asked the FDA to disqualify data from Elon Musk’s Neuralink animal experiments: ‘We want the FDA to proactively launch an investigation’

Prarthana Prakash
By
Prarthana Prakash
Prarthana Prakash
Europe Business News Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
Prarthana Prakash
By
Prarthana Prakash
Prarthana Prakash
Europe Business News Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 13, 2022, 2:56 PM ET
Elon Musk
In November, Elon Musk said that implants on human brains were roughly six months away.CARINA JOHANSEN—NTB/AFP/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Elon Musk has several different businesses, from making electric cars at Tesla to building rocket ships at SpaceX. But one of his lesser-known businesses has been in the spotlight lately over accusations that it needlessly killed about 1,500 animals. 

Neuralink, Musk’s brain technology startup, has come under fire recently for its animal testing practices, and the company is being investigated for violations of animal welfare. Over 20 current and former employees claim that the tests were being conducted hastily, and that workers were under pressure from Musk to expedite trials, leading to botched experiments and excessive animal deaths.   

Now, a major medical ethics advocacy group, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has requested the Food and Drug Administration hold Neuralink accountable for violating protocols on biological tests, and disqualify the data obtained from animal testing, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. It has also asked the FDA to ban additional animal tests by Neuralink.

“Between what we’ve seen in public records and what has been reported, it’s hard to imagine that Neuralink’s animal experiments meet FDA’s requirements,” Deborah Dubow Press, associate general counsel with the Physicians Committee, said in a statement.

In an interview with Fortune, Ryan Merkley, director of research advocacy for the organization, said that it was concerned that the documents Neuralink was providing to the FDA were not “trustworthy.”

“We want FDA to take a very close look at whatever Neuralink is providing, and ideally, we want the FDA to proactively launch an investigation because it’s clear that over the years from public records and whistleblower reports that Neuralink has not followed its own internal protocols.”

Neuralink did not reply to Fortune’s request for comment.

If the FDA does dismiss the results collected thus far, it could threaten Neuralink’s business plans for its brain implants and the company’s stated vision of creating a “brain-computer interface.” At a Neuralink event in November, Musk said that implants on human brains were roughly six months away and that the company had already submitted its request to the FDA. He presented a video of a monkey named Pager playing “monkey mind pong,” which resembles ping-pong but he plays it in his mind. Musk claimed that Pager would not be able to do so without using a brain implant, which he described as “replacing a piece of the skull with a smartwatch.”

“Before we would even think of putting a device in an animal, we do everything we possibly can with rigorous benchtop testing, so we are not cavalier,” Musk said during the presentation. He also said that whenever a device was implanted into a sheep, pig, or monkey, it was done to confirm their testing results rather than to explore the outcomes of the experiment on the animal.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine based its request to the FDA on 700 pages’ worth of documents that were obtained after suing the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California–Davis, which was tasked with conducting the Neuralink animal experiments. The tests were conducted on rhesus macaques, a pink-faced species of monkey originating in Asia, the Washington Post reported.  

Our new weekly Impact Report newsletter examines how ESG news and trends are shaping the roles and responsibilities of today's executives. Subscribe here.

About the Author
Prarthana Prakash
By Prarthana PrakashEurope Business News Reporter
LinkedIn icon

Prarthana Prakash was a Europe business reporter at Fortune.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Current price of Ethereum for June 17, 2026
Personal FinanceEthereum
Current price of Ethereum for June 17, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 17, 2026
1 hour ago
Abhinav Agarwal and Jenny Duan
Startups & VentureBiotech
Exclusive: A 21-year-old Stanford grad just raised $11 million to put a hormone lab on your wrist
By Lily Mae LazarusJune 17, 2026
2 hours ago
Karta founders Orlando Espinoza and Freddy Juez smile at the camera while holding up Karta cards.
Startups & VentureCompanies
Exclusive: Karta raises $15 million to bring WhatsApp-run U.S. credit cards to global travelers
By Camila Grigera NaónJune 17, 2026
2 hours ago
Michael Burry attends the "The Big Short" New York premiere at Ziegfeld Theater on November 23, 2015 in New York City.
InvestingMichael Burry
Michael Burry is ‘tempted’ to short Elon Musk’s SpaceX, but says it’s not enticing enough for ‘fundamentally a small space company’
By Eleanor PringleJune 17, 2026
3 hours ago
OpenAI’s balance sheet remains the most mysterious—and consequential—in business
NewslettersTerm Sheet
OpenAI’s balance sheet remains the most mysterious—and consequential—in business
By Allie GarfinkleJune 17, 2026
4 hours ago
aidan
AIG7
Cohere CEO on G7 leaders’ choice: sovereign AI or digital serfdom
By Aidan GomezJune 17, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream
Success
'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream
By Nick LichtenbergJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
AI
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
Success
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
By Preston ForeJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 16, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 16, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.