Neuralink Explained: Musk’s Quest For Brain-Machine Interfaces

Elon Musk—the world’s richest person—has made a controversial entrance into U.S. politics. Love him or hate him, what’s indisputable is Musk’s ability to bring together people with domain expertise to translate science fiction ideas to reality through ventures like Tesla, SpaceX, and others. One such venture is Neuralink. Musk and others founded the company in 2016 to develop brain-computer interfaces. He funded it with $100 million of his own money. Here’s what you need to know about Neuralink.

What’s A Brain-Computer Interface?

A brain-computer interface is a system transmits signals generated by brain cells—also called neurons—with external devices like computers or smartphones.

For example, electroencephalograms (EEG) are an example of a brain-computer interface. EEGs non-invasively record electrical activity in patients with seizures through small electrodes placed on the scalp. Brain-computer interfaces can also be invasive where a device is implanted on the surface of the brain by a neurosurgeon.

What Is Neuralink Developing?

Neuralink’s main brain-computer interface is called the “N1 Implant”. It’s the size of a coin. It’s an invasive brain-computer interface where microscopic threads containing hair-like electrodes are inserted by a surgeon guided by a robot—called the “R1 Robot”—into targeted areas of the brain to record activity. When the N1 is implanted into the brain—say, the part that controls the arm—and the neurons fire in that area, signals can be transmitted to a computer.

The N1 Implant is being tested in people with spinal cord injuries and degenerative neurological disease where the connection between their brain and their bodies has been damaged. The N1 Implant is inserted into brain areas associated with motor control. Once inserted, the idea is that patients can control computer cursors (or robotic limbs at some point) through their thoughts.

Do Neuralink’s Products Work?

Neuralink’s brain-computer interfaces have been tested in animal models. In one notable experiment, a macaque named Pager played a game of Pong using only the implanted device to control the paddle.

In 2023, Neuralink received FDA approval to start its first human trials for the N1 implant. Neuralink’s PRIME Study is actively enrolling people aged 22 and older with quadriplegia—limited function in the arms and legs—from a spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). People can add themselves to Neuralink’s patient registry to see they are eligible for the PRIME Study or future Neuralink studies.

To date, Neuralink has published reports of two patients where the device was implanted in May and August 2024 on their blog. A case study on a Neuralink patient was published in journal Nature Medicine in January 2025.

According to Neuralink’s blog, before surgery, their first patient—named Noland, a quadriplegic—used a mouth-held stylus which had to be placed in his mouth by a caregiver to a control a tablet. This led to muscle fatigue, prevented him from speaking, and pressure sores needing to be in a sitting position.

After Noland had his Neuralink implant placed, he was able to control the cursor with his brain, play computer games and browse the internet. A second patient named Alex has also been able to play video games and was reportedly learning to use computer-aided design software to design three dimensional objects.

While these stories are promising, they should not be interpreted as long-term safety or efficacy. Neuralink has a long road ahead for FDA approval, on the order of many years.

How Could Neuralink’s Technology Be Used In The Near And Far Future?

If Neuralink’s trials for N1 are successful, eventual FDA approval would mean it could become commercially available for some patients with paralysis.

Neuralink’s technology could also be expanded to other areas. Neuralink is developing another product called “Blindsight” for people a specific visual type of impairment—optic nerve damage and intact neurons in the part of the brain that controls vision (i.e. the visual cortex). The idea is to transmit data directly to the visual cortex with an implant allowing the blind to see.

In September 2024, Neuralink received a breakthrough device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a program that expedites approval in products addressing unmet needs in life-threatening or irreversible conditions. Yet despite this signal from FDA, concerns have been raised by experts as to whether Blindsight will be technically feasible.

Neuralink’s brain-computer interface technology also has been discussed for other potential uses, for example, in mental health treatments for anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder where targeted nerve stimulation could help improve the function of poorly regulated brain areas.

Some have raised concerns that path to treat such conditions with invasive, carefully placed neuro-implants may not be effective because these diseases tend to be more diffusely distributed issues rather than affecting one specific brain region.

Discussions of the future of Neuralink’s technology have also focused on futuristic—or even dystopian— applications like enhancing of human cognition. One vision involves integrating the technology into the education process, where students could download knowledge directly into their brains like Neo did in the move Matrix (1999), “I know Kung Fu.” Note to students: don’t expect this technology to be available any time soon.

On the other hand, while skepticism remains around specific use cases for Neuralink, history has often shown that doubting Elon Musk’s ambitious ventures can lead to being proven wrong.

This All Seems Sci-Fi. Are There Concerns with Neuralink?

Safety and efficacy issues with Neuralink’s technology include risks of surgery, infections, device longevity, immune issues as the body may reject the foreign device and broader effects on the brain.

Additionally, because Neuralink’s devices are read and interpret brain signals, there are questions on both data storage and protection, and the potential for hacking and misuse. Finally, concerns have been raised regarding how a very expensive technology might be equitably distributed or be accessible to broad populations of patients.