Four US lawmakers have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate whether Elon Musk committed securities fraud by allegedly misleading investors about the safety of a brain implant developed by his firm, Neuralink. Democratic House Representatives Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, Barbara Lee, and Tony Cardenas of California have made the request to the SEC. The lawmakers argue that evidence they have reviewed suggests that the deaths of animals in Neuralink experiments 'relate directly to the safety and marketability of Neuralink's brain-computer interface.'

Why does it matter?

On 10 September, Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla and Neuralink CEO, wrote in a post to X, his social media platform, that 'no monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant'. He added that Neuralink deliberately chose 'terminal' monkeys to reduce the danger to healthy ones. Employees at Neuralink told Reuters last year that the company was speeding surgery on monkeys, pigs, and sheep, resulting in more animal deaths than was required.

According to the members of the House, animal deaths in Neuralink's tests are directly linked to the safety and marketability of the company's brain-computer interface. As a result, Musk's statement 'may have violated' SEC rules in refuting any connection, the lawmakers believe. Additionally, if the device is unsafe, it could endanger public health, especially since Neuralink plans to test the brain implant in humans for the first time after gaining FDA approval.