First human receives Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain implant

Elon Musk says his neurotech startup Neuralink implanted its device in a human for the first time on Sunday.

The patient is “recovering well,” Musk said on X, formerly Twitter. “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.”

Neuralink’s first product is called Telepathy, he said.

The company is developing a brain implant that aims to help patients with severe paralysis control external technologies using only neural signals.

“Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal,” Musk wrote in a separate post.

Neuralink began recruiting patients for its first-in-human clinical trial in the autumn in 2023 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company to conduct the study in May.