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Elon Musk said that Neuralink's test monkeys live in "monkey paradise," despite reports that several died gruesome and painful deaths as a result of the company's brain implant.
Speaking at The New York Times' Dealbook conference on Wednesday, the Tesla and SpaceX boss said that the implant — which Neuralink plans to test on humans next year — has never directly caused the death of a monkey.
His comments come amid growing calls for the company to be investigated over its treatment of the animals.
"The USDA inspector who came by Neuralink facilities literally said that in her entire career she has never seen a better animal care facility — we are the nicest to the animals you could possibly be," Musk said in the wide-ranging interview.
"It is like monkey paradise," he added.
Musk said that the company had used terminally ill monkeys for some of its early implants, reflecting comments he made in a post on X earlier this year, but insisted that no monkeys had died as a direct result of the Neuralink brain implant.
"Neuralink has never caused the death of a monkey … In fact, we now have monkeys who have had Neuralink implants for two to three years, and they're doing great," he said.
Musk and Neuralink have come under intense scrutiny over the treatment of the monkeys implanted with the company's brain interface, which the billionaire has said could help people with paralysis regain full body movement and eventually prevent humanity from being wiped out by AI.
In a letter to the SEC earlier this year, the non-profit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said that Musk's comments about the safety of Neuralink's brain interface had misled investors.
They said that veterinary records showed Neuralink had been forced to euthanize 12 "previously healthy" monkeys who had received the implant after they experienced symptoms including bloody diarrhea, paralysis, and brain swelling.
Neuralink is set to begin human trials next year after receiving approval from the FDA, with thousands of people reportedly signing up to have the company's chip implanted in their brains.
Neuralink did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.
