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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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Elon Musk shed two new bits of detail on Starship following its 13th test launch, which was an overwhelming success.
SpaceX launched Starship for the 13th time last Friday after two delays: one on Monday when several Raptor engines did not ignite, and another on Thursday due to unfavorable weather conditions in Starbase, Texas.
The launch was overwhelmingly successful. SpaceX was able to complete a necessary test of the heat shield tiles by increasing the acceleration of Starship from launch throughout the flight; 20 Starlink v3 satellites were released with no issue; the Super Heavy Booster landed safely in the Gulf of America, Ship successfully reignited engines while in space; and it also splashed down without incident in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
Nevertheless, more details are coming out about Starship, and Musk is doing the talking.
Starship Will Be Retrieved in the Ocean
Musk revealed on Tuesday night that Starship would be recovered by a ship in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX routinely tries to recover Starship after splashdown in an effort to find out more about the flight by examining the spacecraft afterward.
We’re sending a ship out to recover Starship https://t.co/fUqUZTITO9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2026
This helps engineers find out more about why things might have happened, allows them to examine any potential damage or anomalies that might have occurred, and increases the chances of an even more successful flight next time thanks to the additional information recovered.
Ship Could Have Been Caught by Tower Arms, Musk claims
Musk has already indicated that SpaceX will plan to attempt a catch of Starship with the 14th test flight. While this would be a major accomplishment, it would be an expected next step, considering the fact that the Super Heavy Booster has already been caught by the chopsticks on numerous occasions.
The ship landing was precise, meaning that it would have been caught by the tower arms https://t.co/6nbNrRfX9P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
A ship catch would be a great indication of where SpaceX stands in terms of reusability and launch cadence. A successful catch with relatively no incidents would be a good sign that SpaceX is nearing a more frequent launch of Starship, but also that the reusability of the massive rocket would be something many would expect in the near future.
It is a necessity to make life multiplanetary.
Elon Musk has updated his timeline for when humans will walk on Mars and for when ships will simply get there.
The objective of getting to Mars has been one of Musk’s biggest goals since becoming a serial entrepreneur and realizing that time on Earth is limited. Musk has said several times he hopes to die on Mars, and not by impact.
Musk now believes that people will be on Mars in “roughly 5 to 7 years.” He said that a Mars lander will get there “a few years sooner.”
People on Mars in roughly 5 to 7 years.
Mars lander a few years sooner.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
The response from Musk comes after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that SpaceX’s biggest priority is the Moon and not Mars. Because of this, Isaacman conceded that he believes nuclear power and propulsion investments will provide “potentially the pathway with the fewest miracles required to put four people on Mars in the next 10 to 15 years.”
Of course, this is what NASA can do through taxpayer funding and nuclear investments, he added.
Musk’s grand ambitions are much more optimistic than most, and it is certainly a double-edged sword. This is not the first time timelines for Mars have been somewhat lofty, especially to those normal thinkers like you and me, not super geniuses like Musk.
In fact, the SpaceX and Tesla frontman has said on at least a dozen occasions that we could be on Mars in the coming years. Musk said 2020 would be the big year as early as 2009. In 2020, he was “highly confident” of a landing in 2026, and had even said 2024 in a best-case scenario.
The point is, the range has varied, and it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll get there. This latest adjustment to the timeline is typical of Musk, and while the Moon has seemingly taken priority over Mars, it is still worth mentioning that the ultimate goal is to make life multiplanetary, and it starts potentially with the Red Planet.
SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) got an absolutely crazy price target rating from Raymond James after the company experienced a tough first few weeks following its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Despite the tumultuous start, SpaceX has plenty of believers, and the company’s massively successful Starship launch last Friday, its 13th test flight of the massive rocket, went so smoothly that Raymond James analysts pushed its price target on the company to roughly 7 times its current trading level.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
The firm officially put a “Strong Buy” rating and an $800 price target on the stock. It currently trades at around $113. Its all-time high is $225.64, reaching this trading level shortly after shares first went public.
Raymond James’ price target is tied to the firm’s confidence after Starship’s 13th test flight. Analysts at the firm said it was an incremental step that reduces engineering risks, citing the widely successful heat shield test that CEO Elon Musk recently detailed, the smooth deployment of Starlink V3 satellites, and a successful in-space engine relight.
SpaceX also managed to see Starship splash down safely in the Indian Ocean, while the Super Heavy Booster fell down to the Gulf of America with no incidents.
It is interesting to see these launches have such a tremendous impact on the stock and what investors think of it. After SpaceX initially delayed the Starship launch last week, shares fell tremendously. Most probably did not realize that the stand-down is a standard practice, especially if everything is not perfect.
The mission was initially aborted due to an issue with Raptor engines. This was resolved, and Starship launched last Friday after another delay on Thursday, which was caused by weather.
Now that analysts have seen what SpaceX launches are capable of and how impressive the feat is, firms are adjusting their price targets accordingly, making it known that they have high expectations for the space exploration company.
Elon Musk sheds two new bits of detail on Starship after 13th test launch
Elon Musk updates the SpaceX timeline for Mars
