Elon Musk has become a darling for freedom loving Americans in recent months.
Many have said he’s done more for free speech than any living politician.
Now he’s being targeted by the last federal agency that anyone would have ever expected.
Department of Transportation announces Neuralink probe
Elon Musk is officially under investigation by the United States Department of Transportation.
Of course, that would make sense if it involved his role as founder and CEO of Tesla, but that’s not the company the federal government is targeting.
Musk’s controversial implantable brain-computer interface company, Neuralink, is being accused of illegally transporting hazardous pathogens.
The Department of Transportation made the announcement on February 9 after receiving a letter from Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an animal-welfare group,
The group claims to have “evidence” that Neuralink has been mishandling chips that were previously implanted in test monkeys.
They say that the company has been packaging the implants improperly, and it could lead to the spread of dangerous pathogens and infectious diseases.
Department of Transportation representatives said that the allegation is under careful investigation, and that they would be taking the group “very seriously.”
Company allegedly mishandled “dangerous pathogens”
A spokesperson told Reuters that they “are conducting an investigation to ensure that Neuralink is in full compliance with federal regulations and keeping their workers and the public safe from potentially dangerous pathogens.”
The investigation will surely create an even darker cloud over the company’s controversial project to develop implants that work with the human brain.
While many are skeptical about the potential uses of such a device, Neuralink says they hope it will be used to put an end to a variety of disabilities – not to mention the equallying of the playing field such devices could theoretically do, in the event Artificial Intelligence begins displacing human workers.
This isn’t the only probe that the company has faced related to animal welfare.
It was already reported in December that Neuralink is under investigation for potential mistreatment of test animals, as some internal witnesses claimed that the project has developed too quickly, resulting in many problems.
Neuralink has denied the allegations of animal abuse, saying there was but “one surgical complication involving the use of the FDA-approved product (BioGlue),” and that the monkey was euthanized.
PCRM also relied heavily on supposed internal sources regarding the possible mishandling of biological materials present on removed implants.
One unnamed employee wrote in an email that the primate center at UC Davis could be “at risk” due to “monkey-contaminated hardware.”
They said that this could be dangerous for “anyone coming in contact with the contaminated explanted hardware.”
The supposed source went on to write that they wanted to make a “big deal” out of the situation because they were genuinely “concerned for human safety.”
PCRM has a history of making legal complaints against Neuralink
It should be noted that PCRM has been directly involved in other complaints against the company in the past.
They are highly focused on animal-welfare issues, and Musk’s Neuralink has been a high-profile example of animal testing.
Neuralink has been open about their use of animals in testing, and have even posted videos on its YouTube page reportedly showing a monkey with the company’s implant playing pong on a television screen with only its mind.
This has sparked outrage by animal-right groups who are looking to put an end to any form of testing on animals.
Neither Elon Musk nor Neuralink have issued a response to the Department of Transportation’s probe into the company.
US Political Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
