News
Neuralink details humane animal treatment during Link v0.9 testing
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company, recently detailed how the three little piggies it used for the initial studies of its new Link V0.9 were treated. One focus of the company was to keep the pigs happy and treat them as their own, all while gathering important information during experimentation that is helping develop one of the most significant breakthroughs in the history of neurological treatment.
“Taking care of our animal friends is a core value at Neuralink,” the company said in the description of a YouTube video it posted on August 28th.
Before human experimentation begins, Neuralink scientists and engineers chose to test the new Link V0.9 device on pigs, which stole the show during the company’s August 28th Update event. The most notorious of the three was Gertrude. She still equips the Link as of the event and is functioning normally and happily while supplying engineers with valuable information regarding the product’s performance.
Neuralink team members focused on the ethical treatment of pigs during experimentation. (Credit: Neuralink | YouTube)
Many of the team members at Neuralink admitted that the animals became more than just test subjects, and they became attached to each pig that helped them with information gathering. It was important for all team members to treat the animals humanely and with the same amount of respect as a pet would receive, which is different from many companies that choose to test their products on animals before releasing them to the public.
Numerous animal rights organizations have called to stop animal testing in the past, and some people choose not to buy products from companies who use animals for testing. However, with awareness for the humane treatment of animals becoming a widespread belief, more companies are watching how they treat test subjects.
Neuralink’s goal was to keep all of the animals who were chosen for testing as happy as possible. It ultimately came down to equipping the team with more than engineers and scientists. Other employees had responsibilities that required them to keep the pigs happy during Neuralink’s initial developments.
Two pigs hang out in a spacious and comfortable playpen. (Credit: Neuralink | YouTube)
Several team members were required to come up with behavioral and training plans for the pigs to ensure the safety and well-being of the animals while research was being performed. Their pens were to be spacious and comfortable and were maintained daily by the team members with fresh hay, food, and water.
Additionally, an attending veterinarian was kept on-site at all times, ensuring the safety and humane treatment of the animals while research was ongoing. Sam Baker, DVM, DACLAM, said, “I oversee all facets of the animal care program from the day-to-day husbandry, food, water, provisions for these animals to ensure that they are always looked after to the best of our ability.”
A committee of Neuralink team members also holds regular meetings to discuss how the group can provide more love and compassion to the animals during the development of its products.
Along with humane treatment, love and compassion from team members, and regular exercise, it is certain that the correct treatment of the animals during the testing phase was of utmost importance to the Neuralink team.
Watch Neuralink team members talk about animal treatment below.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
