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Elon Musk’s Neuralink targets human trials for brain-machine interface in 2020
After operating in stealth mode for the past two years, Neuralink, the brain-machine interface startup co-founded by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has revealed some of the innovations that it has been developing. The company also announced that it is aiming to start implanting devices in humans by 2020, starting with paralyzed individuals who could then control phones or computers through their brain-machine implants.
Neuralink focused on two innovations on Tuesday’s presentation. The first involved flexible “threads” that are incredibly thin, measuring between 4 and 6 μm or about 1/3 the diameter of human hair. These threads are capable of transferring high volumes of data, with a white paper published by the company hinting at “as many as 3,072 electrodes per array distributed across 96 threads.” With the threads being incredibly thin, they would not damage the brain.
Another key technology revealed by Neuralink on its recent presentation was a custom made robot designed to embed implants into the brain. Thanks to computer vision and lenses, the robot will be able to place implants on patients without hitting or damaging blood vessels, reducing damage to the brain and scar tissue. Neuralink researcher Philip Sabes noted that “because these things are so thin and flexible, the idea is that they move with the tissue instead of tearing the tissue.”
Neuralink has performed at least 19 surgeries on animals with its robots, and so far, the machines have successfully placed the threads about 87% of the time. One of these subjects, a rather hefty rat that was shown off to the press, was fitted with a wired prototype of the company’s brain-machine interface. During the press demo, Sabes mentioned that the amount of data gathered from the rodent was about ten times greater than what is possible with today’s sensors.
In his presentation, Elon Musk stated that the evolution of Neuralink’s tech would be gradual, though he did mention that the company’s goal is a form of “symbiosis” with technology. “It’s not going to be suddenly Neuralink will have this neural lace and start taking over people’s brains. This is going to sound pretty weird, but ultimately, we will achieve symbiosis with artificial intelligence. This is not a mandatory thing. It is a thing you can choose to have if you want. This is something that I think will be really important on a civilization-level scale,” he remarked.
While the technologies shared by Neuralink on Tuesday seemed borderline science fiction, Neuralink president Max Hodak noted that similar innovations have actually been introduced and implemented in the past. “Neuralink didn’t come out of nowhere; there’s a long history of academic research here. We’re, in the greatest sense, building on the shoulders of giants,” he said. Nevertheless, Neuralink’s goal of directly reading neural spikes in a minimally-intrusive way remains notably ambitious.
The potential for such technologies is enormous. Implants such as BrainGate, which was developed initially at Brown University, were used in cases such as those of Matthew Nagle, who suffered from a spinal cord injury. Back in 2006, Nagle was able to learn how to use a computer using brain implants, at one point even playing Pong with his mind. In its presentation, Neuralink noted that its brain implants could be used for several individuals afflicted by Parkinson’s Disease, Dystonia, Epilepsy, OCD, Depression, Chronic Pain, and Tinnitus, among many.
Yet, despite its impressive innovations and its lofty goals, it should be noted that Neuralink is still a long way from achieving its targets. Dr. Matthew MacDougall, head surgeon at Neuralink, mentioned this while discussing how Neuralink implants could be as seamless as Lasik in the future. “There is a whole FDA process we have to go though. We haven’t done that yet,” he said.
So why the presentation? As noted by Elon Musk, Tuesday’s event is, at its core, an invitation for interested individuals who would like to work on the innovations that Neuralink is pursuing. With this open invitation, it would not be surprising if the company attracts an impressive number of talent in the near future. But now it’s time for you to vote. Will you be open to getting a brain-machine interface implant from Neuralink in the future?
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Tesla confirms Robotaxi expansion plans with new cities and aggressive timeline
Tesla plans to launch in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas. It lists the Bay Area as “Safety Driver,” and Austin as “Ramping Unsupervised.”
Tesla confirmed its intentions to expand the Robotaxi program in the United States with an aggressive timeline that aims to send the ride-hailing service to several large cities very soon.
The Robotaxi program is currently active in Austin, Texas, and the California Bay Area, but Tesla has received some approvals for testing in other areas of the U.S., although it has not launched in those areas quite yet.
However, the time is coming.
During Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call last night, the company confirmed that it plans to expand the Robotaxi program aggressively, hoping to launch in seven new cities in the first half of the year.
Tesla plans to launch in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas. It lists the Bay Area as “Safety Driver,” and Austin as “Ramping Unsupervised.”
These details were released in the Earnings Shareholder Deck, which is published shortly before the Earnings Call:
🚨 BREAKING: Tesla plans to launch its Robotaxi service in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas in the first half of this year pic.twitter.com/aTnruz818v
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 28, 2026
Late last year, Tesla revealed it had planned to launch Robotaxi in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston, but Tampa and Orlando were just added to the plans, signaling an even more aggressive expansion than originally planned.
Tesla feels extremely confident in its Robotaxi program, and that has been reiterated many times.
Although skeptics still remain hesitant to believe the prowess Tesla has seemingly proven in its development of an autonomous driving suite, the company has been operating a successful program in Austin and the Bay Area for months.
In fact, it announced it achieved nearly 700,000 paid Robotaxi miles since launching Robotaxi last June.
🚨 Tesla has achieved nearly 700,000 paid Robotaxi miles since launching in June of last year pic.twitter.com/E8ldSW36La
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 28, 2026
With the expansion, Tesla will be able to penetrate more of the ride-sharing market, disrupting the human-operated platforms like Uber and Lyft, which are usually more expensive and are dependent on availability.
Tesla launched driverless rides in Austin last week, but they’ve been few and far between, as the company is certainly easing into the program with a very cautiously optimistic attitude, aiming to prioritize safety.
Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call: The most important points
Executives, including CEO Elon Musk, discussed how the company is positioning itself for growth across vehicles, energy, AI, and robotics despite near-term pressures from tariffs, pricing, and macro conditions.
Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call highlighted improving margins, record energy performance, expanding autonomy efforts, and a sharp acceleration in AI and robotics investments.
Executives, including CEO Elon Musk, discussed how the company is positioning itself for growth across vehicles, energy, AI, and robotics despite near-term pressures from tariffs, pricing, and macro conditions.
Key takeaways
Tesla reported sequential improvement in automotive gross margins excluding regulatory credits, rising from 15.4% to 17.9%, supported by favorable regional mix effects despite a 16% decline in deliveries. Total gross margin exceeded 20.1%, the highest level in more than two years, even with lower fixed-cost absorption and tariff impacts.
The energy business delivered standout results, with revenue reaching nearly $12.8 billion, up 26.6% year over year. Energy gross profit hit a new quarterly record, driven by strong global demand and high deployments of MegaPack and Powerwall across all regions, as noted in a report from The Motley Fool.
Tesla also stated that paid Full Self-Driving customers have climbed to nearly 1.1 million worldwide, with about 70% having purchased FSD outright. The company has now fully transitioned FSD to a subscription-based sales model, which should create a short-term margin headwind for automotive results.
Free cash flow totaled $1.4 billion for the quarter. Operating expenses rose by $500 million sequentially as well.
Production shifts, robotics, and AI investment
Musk further confirmed that Model S and Model X production is expected to wind down next quarter, and plans are underway to convert Fremont’s S/X line into an Optimus robot factory with a capacity of one million units.
Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet has surpassed 500 vehicles, operating across the Bay Area and Austin, with Musk noting a rapid monthly expansion pace. He also reiterated that CyberCab production is expected to begin in April, following a slow initial S-curve ramp before scaling beyond other vehicle programs.
Looking ahead, Tesla expects its capital expenditures to exceed $20 billion next year, thanks to the company’s operations across its six factories, the expansion of its fleet expansion, and the ramp of its AI compute. Additional investments in AI chips, compute infrastructure, and future in-house semiconductor manufacturing were discussed but are not included in the company’s current CapEx guidance.
More importantly, Tesla ended the year with a larger backlog than in recent years. This is supported by record deliveries in smaller international markets and stronger demand across APAC and EMEA. Energy backlog remains strong globally as well, though Tesla cautioned that margin pressure could emerge from competition, policy uncertainty, and tariffs.
Tesla is bringing closure to its flagship Model S and Model X vehicles, which CEO Elon Musk said several years ago were only produced for “sentimental reasons.”
The Model S and Model X have been light contributors to Tesla’s delivery growth over the past few years, commonly contributing only a few percentage points toward the over 1.7 million cars the company has handed over to customers annually since 2022.
However, the Model S and Model X have remained in production because of their high-end performance and flagship status; they are truly two vehicles that are premium offerings and do not hold major weight toward Tesla’s future goals.
On Wednesday, during the Q4 2025 Earnings Call, Musk confirmed that Tesla would bring closure to the two models, ending their production and making way for the manufacturing efforts of the Optimus robot:
“It is time to bring the Model S and Model X programs to an end with an honorable discharge. It is time to bring the S/X programs to an end. It’s part of our overall shift to an autonomous future.”
Musk said the production lines that Tesla has for the Model S and Model X at the Fremont Factory in Northern California will be transitioned to Optimus production lines that will produce one million units per year.
Tesla Fremont Factory celebrates 15 years of electric vehicle production
Tesla will continue to service Model S and Model X vehicles, but it will officially stop deliveries of the cars in Q2, as inventory will be liquidated. When they’re gone, they’re gone.
BREAKING: Tesla will wind down Model S and Model X production next quarter, Elon Musk confirms.
“It is time to bring the Model S and Model X programs to an end with an honorable discharge.” pic.twitter.com/Czn7aQjJE1
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 28, 2026
Tesla has been making moves to sunset the two vehicles for the better part of one year. Last July, it stopped taking any custom orders for vehicles in Europe, essentially pushing the idea that the program was coming to a close soon.
Musk said back in 2019:
“I mean, they’re very expensive, made in low volume. To be totally frank, we’re continuing to make them more for sentimental reasons than anything else. They’re really of minor importance to the future.”
That point is more relevant than ever as Tesla is ending the production of the cars to make way for Optimus, which will likely be Tesla’s biggest product in the coming years.
Musk added during the Earnings Call on Wednesday that he believes Optimus will be a major needle-mover of the United States’ GDP, as it will increase productivity and enable universal high income for humans.
Tesla confirms Robotaxi expansion plans with new cities and aggressive timeline
Tesla (TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call: The most important points
