Tech

Elon Musk can now put his brain implants in humans

Elon Musk.
Elon Musk owns Twitter. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Elon Musk finally got approval from the Food and Drug Administration to start implanting his company's brain chips in humans, Neuralink announced Thursday.

Neuralink, which was founded by Musk in 2016, said on Twitter it received FDA approval to launch its "first-in-human clinical study." The company added "recruitment is not yet open" to participate in the clinical trial, but that they'd be sharing more information on that soon.

In March the FDA rejected Neuralink's request for approval to being human testing, citing several concerns that would first need to be addressed, Reuters reported at the time. Among the safety concerns were that the brain chip wires could move around or that the chip could overheat.

So far Neuralink has only tested the brain chips on animals, including pigs and monkeys.

Neuralink says its brain chips could allow people to complete tasks using only their minds and help treat certain medical conditions.

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Kelsey Vlamis's face on gray background.
Kelsey Vlamis
Kelsey Vlamis is a senior reporter for Business Insider, where she covers business and tech news. She also writes business stories about travel, luxury, and culture. Previously, she covered the environment, outdoors, and indigenous issues.Her feature story "Disaster at 18,200 feet" received awards from the New York Press Club and the North American Travel Journalists Association, as well as honorable mention from the Society of American Travel Writers. She has also received an American Journalism Online Award for her coverage on missing and murdered Indigenous people in Wyoming.She's appeared on CBS, NPR, NBC, and other outlets to discuss her reporting. She previously worked on the world news desk at the BBC in London and received a master's in journalism from Northwestern University.She can be reached by email at kvlamis@bjinnox.com or via the encrypted-messaging app Signal at kelseyv.21.