Elon Musk Says Neuralink Users With Paralysis Will Be Able To Use 'Smartphone With Their Mind Faster' Than Those Using Thumbs

Neuralink CEO Elon Musk said Thursday that the company’s first implant will allow someone with paralysis to use a smartphone with their mind faster than some using their thumbs.

What Happened: Musk, who also leads Tesla Inc TSLA, made the revelation on Twitter in a series of posts. The entrepreneur said that the device is “implanted flush with skull & charges wirelessly, so you look & feel totally normal.”

He said that the later versions of the Neuralink device would allow paraplegics to walk again.

Later versions will be able to shunt signals from Neuralinks in brain to Neuralinks in body motor/sensory neuron clusters, thus enabling, for example, paraplegics to walk again

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2021

Musk also posted a photo of a monkey playing the classic video game Pong with his mind. The tweet included a link for a video showing Pager, a 9-year-old Macaque, playing the game using Neuralink (starts at 2:15 mark). 

Musk said in a reply to another Twitter user that human trials will commence later this year.

He confirmed that even people who do not have paralysis can apply to have the device installed to gain features like playing video games telepathically. 

Sure

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2021

Why It Matters: The monkey playing a video game was disclosed by Musk in a Clubhouse interview in February. 

At the time, Musk said that the device could eventually be used as a “save state” application allowing deceased humans to live in another human or robot.

See also: How to Invest in Tesla Stock

In August, Neuralink had demonstrated the device on three pigs. The demonstration centered around real-time neural signals being fired in one of the pig’s brains.

In the same month, Musk said it will be possible for owners of Tesla vehicles to telepathically summon their cars using Neuralink implants.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed nearly 1.9% higher at $683.80 on Thursday and gained 0.43% in the after-hours session.

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