Elon Musk Teases 'The Luke Skywalker Solution': Neuralink's Brain Chips Join Forces With Tesla Optimus Bot

The combined force of Neuralink's brain chips and Tesla Inc's TSLA Optimus robot may soon be with us.

What To Know: Elon Musk's brain-computer interface technology company Neuralink was cleared for in-human clinical trials earlier this year. In a post on X this week, Neuralink announced it opened up recruitment for the trials. 

Neuralink's mission is to "create a generalized brain interface to restore autonomy to those with unmet medical needs today and unlock human potential tomorrow," per the company website.

In an X post, Musk said the device ultimately has the potential to restore full body movement. In the long term, Neuralink aims to improve human to AI bandwidth in order to help reduce the civilizational risk AI poses. 

What's even more interesting, especially for Star Wars fans, is the comparison the Tesla CEO made when talking about potential use cases for Neuralink. 

"When a Neuralink is combined with Optimus robot limbs, the Luke Skywalker solution can become real," Musk said in a follow up to the aforementioned post.

Optimus is Tesla's humanoid robot designed to use AI software and sensors to assist owners in daily tasks. Musk suggested that when combined with Neuralink's brain implant, the Musk-led companies could create Star Wars-like robotic limbs.

In "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back," Skywalker gets his hand cut off by Darth Vader. He's later pictured having it replaced with a robotic arm that looks realistic. Musk shared a link to a video clip of the hand in his X post. 

The "Luke Skywalker solution" may not be too far away. Musk previously said Optimus bots would be ready to start walking around on in-house actuators by November. Production is expected to follow shortly after.

It remains to be seen how the Neuralink trials will go. Musk recently came under criticism for testing of the devices on monkeys.

Read Next: Elon Musk Questioned By Ethics Group Over Painful Deaths Of Monkeys Linked To Neuralink

This illustration was generated using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.