Factbox-Elon Musk’s missed deadlines for FDA approval of Neuralink brain-chip trials

(Reuters) – Several times since 2019, billionaire Elon Musk has predicted his brain-chip company, Neuralink, would soon secure FDA approval for human trials. Reuters was told by staffers at Neuralink that the company’s application for approval was denied in the early 2022. The company continues to work with the FDA regarding safety concerns about the experimental implant.

Here’s a look at Musk’s predictions for FDA clinical-trial approval.

July 2019: Musk reveals that Neuralink hopes to be approved for human trials of brain implant technology by 2020.

Musk tweets February 2021 “Neuralink is working super hard to ensure implant safety & is in close communication with the FDA. If things go well, we might be able to do initial human trials later this year.”

April 2022: Musk tells a interviewer that “aspirationally” The company is aiming to obtain FDA approval. “do the first human implant this year.”

November 2022 Musk tweets “We are now confident that the Neuralink device is ready for humans, so timing is a function of working through the FDA approval process.” He stated that Neuralink’s livestreamed is available at “show-and-tell” Prezentation that he believes the device will be in human hands in six months.