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Elon Musk's Brain chip company sued by pregnant woman for Herpes Monkeys. · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads, the
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company and Neuralink.
• 0:13
  I'm your host Will Walden. Neuralink, the brain implant
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  startup founded by Elon Musk, is facing legal action from a
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  former employee, Lindsay Short, who claimed she was forced to
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  work with monkeys carrying the herpes B virus under unsafe
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  conditions. The complaint, filed in
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  California State court, also alleges retaliation and wrongful
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  termination following her announcement of pregnancy.
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  Short, who joined Neuralinks Fremont, CA site in August of
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  2022, describes a toxic work environment marked by blame,
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  shame, and unrealistic deadlines.
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  She alleges that the company failed to provide proper
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  protective gear while she worked with herpes bee infected
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  monkeys, leading to incidents where she was scratched through
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  a glove and on her face. Now, the lawsuit claims that
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  after seeking medical treatment for the scratches, Short was
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  threatened with severe repercussions if she insisted on
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  medical attention in the future, and Neuralink did not
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  immediately respond to a request for comment on these
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  allegations. Short also contends that the
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  company did not honor its promise of flexible work hours
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  to accommodate her family, instead demoting her in May of
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  2023, just two months after her promotion.
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  She was fired the day after informing Neurolink's human
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  resources department of her pregnancy with a company setting
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  performance issues. The Neurolink has been in the
• 1:35
  early stages of clinical trials for his brain implant device,
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  which aims to restore function for paralyzed patients.
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  Recently, a quadriplegic became the first human patient to
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  receive the implant, enabling him to play video games using
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  only his thoughts, and the company has faced criticism and
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  scrutiny over its Treatment of Animals.
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  Past research on monkeys at the University of California, Davis
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  and included botched surgeries that resulted in severe
• 2:00
  complications and deaths, prompting Neuralink to move its
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  monkey research in house. A federal investigation by the
• 2:07
  US Department of Agriculture's Inspector General was launched
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  into Neuralink over potential animal welfare violations.
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  This probe followed internal complaints.
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  The Musk's pressure to accelerate development led to
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  rushed and flawed animal tests, causing unnecessary suffering
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  and also deaths. An animal rights group,
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  Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, accused
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  Neuralink and UC Davis of using incorrect surgical methods,
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  leading to significant suffering of the test animals.
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  Musk has previously expressed his reluctance to use animals
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  and research, but has emphasized the necessity for rapid progress
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  in developing technologies to accept people with severe
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  disabilities. Now, in an effort to address
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  public concerns, Neuralink has reportedly made efforts to
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  improve living conditions for his test animals, creating
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  facilities referred to as Monkey Disneyland or the Monkey Taj
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  Mahal. And despite these efforts,
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  backlash against the company's animal testing practices
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  persists. Neuralink's legal and ethical
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  challenges reflect broader issues faced by companies in the
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  high stakes field of medical research, where the urgency to
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  deliver results can conflict with ethical and regulatory
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  standards. The scrutiny over Neuralink's
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  treatment of both employees and animals is expected to increase
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  as the company continues its development efforts.
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  Lindsay Short's lawsuit is not an isolated case of alleged
• 3:25
  gender discrimination within Musk's companies.
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  Similar allegations have been made against SpaceX, where
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  former employees have claimed wrongful termination after
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  raising concerns about sexual harassment.
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  Reports indicate that as many as a dozen suffered from severe
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  systems, including brain swelling, partial paralysis and
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  self harming behavior after being implanted with neuralinks.
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  Chimps. That's the monkeys.
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  These incidents have fueled ongoing controversy surrounding
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  the company's research methods. Musk has denied claims of
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  improper treatment of the test animals, asserting that the
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  affected monkeys were terminally ill prior to receiving the
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  implants. However, he has not provided
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  substantial evidence to support these statements.
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  Short's case also highlights alleged violations of
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  transportation regulations by Neuralink.
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  U.S. Department of Transportation is
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  investigating the illegal movement of implants removed
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  from monkey brains, which may have been contaminated with
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  Herpes B and other hard to kill bacteria.
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  Now, these allegations, if proven true, paint a disturbing
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  picture of Neuralink's operational practices.
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  The company's handling of both its employees and test animals
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  could lead to further legal and ethical repercussions.
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  Neuralink's approach to rapid development has involved
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  repeated testing without fully addressing issues from earlier
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  experiments. This has raised concerns among
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  current and former employees about the quality of data and
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  the ethical implications of the company's methods.
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  And despite these controversies, Neuralink continues its mission
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  to develop brain implant technology that can potentially
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  transform the lives of individuals with severe
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  disabilities. The balance between scientific
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  advancement and ethical responsibility remains a
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  critical aspect of its operations, and the outcome of
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  Schwartz's lawsuit may have broader implications for
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  workplace practices and animal welfare standards.
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  Within the field of biomedical research.
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  And as Neuralink progresses with its clinical trials, the
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  scrutiny over its treatment of employees and animals is
• 5:16
  expected to remain intense. Neuralink's current legal
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  issues, coupled with past controversies over animal
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  treatment highlights significant challenges in balancing this
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  rapid technology development with ethical consideration.
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  The resolution of these issues will be crucial for the
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  company's future. Hey, thank you so much for
• 5:41
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 5:43
  support. If you could take a second and
• 5:45
  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
• 5:48
  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
• 5:51
  appreciate it. It helps out the show
• 5:52
  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
• 5:55
  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
• 5:59
  caught up quickly. And please, if you want to
• 6:01
  support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stage Zero and
• 6:07
  please take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you
• 6:10
  tomorrow.