Concerns Grow Over Monkey Brain Research At UC Davis Involving Elon Musk Company

DAVIS (CBS13) — There are growing concerns over medical research conducted at UC Davis on live animals. The experiments involve a company co-founded by Elon Musk.

For several years, more than 20 monkeys at the UC Davis primate center were used in research to treat brain disorders.

Pager, a nine-year-old macaque, had a Neuralink chip placed in each side of his brain. Neuralink is a private company co-founded by Musk. Their product is a computer interface that can be implanted in a brain to control motor function.

Pager was able to play the video game Pong using only his brain waves.

"If you know somebody who's broken their neck or broken their spine, we can solve that with a chip," Musk previously said about Neuralink.

The experimental concept used UC Davis primates to see if it would work.

"You need to test it out and you need to make sure it's as safe as possible before you use it in a human subject," said Jim Newman with Americans For Medical Progress.

Opponents to the research say the primates are subjected to abusive experiments that sometimes end in death.

"Neuralink gave UC Davis $1.4 million over the course of 2.5 years to cut open the skulls of monkeys and implant these devices," said Ryan Merkley with Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine.

"I am absolutely devastated and mad and angry because money should not be able to take over animals lives and hurt them," animal rights activist Linda Middlesworth said.

A lawsuit has been filed against the university demanding documents about the research be released, and a complaint has been filed with the feds.

"To us, it's very clear that these were violations of the Animal Welfare Act," Merkley said.

But in a statement, UC Davis says: "We strive to provide the best possible care to animals in our charge. Animal research is strictly regulated and UC Davis follows all applicable laws and regulations."

It's a legal battle of conflicting opinions on cutting edge medical research.

"There's no need to subject animals to these invasive deadly experiments," Merkley said.

The UC Davis primate center has had several fatal mishaps with monkeys in the past. Seven infant primates died in 2018 due to accidental poisoning. In 2016, a primate died after attempting to escape, and in 2013, one died after being trapped in his cage.

UC Davis says its collaboration with Neuralink ended in 2020.