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Neuralink Expands Human Trials, 12 People Now Using Brain Implants

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Elon Musk’s Neuralink announced Tuesday that 12 people worldwide have received its brain implants, marking steady progress in its clinical rollout.

Key Details

  • Patient Numbers: Up from 7 in June, when partner Barrow Neurological Institute confirmed its involvement.

  • Usage Stats: Collectively, patients have logged 2,000 days of implant use and over 15,000 hours of activity, using the device to control both digital and physical tools through thought.

  • Trials Abroad: A new clinical study will launch in the UK, partnering with University College London Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals.

  • Funding: Neuralink raised $650 million in June to support expansion.

Background

  • Neuralink began human trials in 2024 after overcoming U.S. FDA safety objections that initially blocked approval in 2022.

  • The company’s implants are aimed at restoring movement and communication for people with severe paralysis, representing a major step in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.

Outlook

  • The trials will help Neuralink test long-term safety, reliability, and potential new medical applications.

  • If successful, the technology could pave the way for broader use cases — from medical rehabilitation to advanced human-computer interaction.

Tesla’s $8.5 Trillion Dream: Musk’s Pay Package Tied to Robots, Robotaxis, and Investor Faith

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Tesla’s board has tied Elon Musk’s new trillion-dollar pay package to an extraordinary target: growing the company’s market value to $8.5 trillion over the next decade — a figure that would eclipse today’s giants Microsoft and Nvidia combined.

The Road to $8.5 Trillion

  • Robotaxis: Tesla aims to deploy 1 million autonomous taxis, building a network that could dwarf Uber’s business. ARK Invest forecasts up to $951 billion in annual revenue from ride-hailing by 2029, with Tesla taking a higher cut of fares than rivals.

  • Optimus humanoid robots: Musk says robots could represent 80% of Tesla’s value. To hit profit targets, Tesla might need to sell 100 million robots annually, priced around $25,000 each, generating hundreds of billions in EBITDA.

  • EVs & energy: Tesla’s auto and energy units would still contribute, but analysts agree the bulk of upside must come from next-gen products.

Investor Math

  • Tesla trades at about 75x EBITDA, far higher than most automakers.

  • At that multiple, Tesla would need $113 billion EBITDA for $8.5T valuation — below the $400 billion EBITDA goal in Musk’s package.

  • Current EBITDA: $13 billion (LSEG).

Risks & Reality Check

  • Operational hurdles: Vehicle sales have declined, raising near-term challenges.

  • Market skepticism: Morgan Stanley called Tesla’s $400B EBITDA target “materially more aggressive” than its forecasts, requiring massive contributions from robots and AI markets that barely exist today.

  • Regulatory & technical roadblocks: Scaling robotaxis and humanoid robots will demand breakthroughs in autonomy, safety, and manufacturing.

Why Investors Still Believe

  • Narrative power: Tesla is valued as a growth story, not an automaker.

  • Long-term optionality: Robotaxis and robots represent potential trillion-dollar markets.

  • Alignment: Tying Musk’s pay to performance reassures some investors that bold bets are necessary to reverse slowing growth.

As Will Rhind of GraniteShares put it: “There are big operational hurdles Tesla does need to accomplish… so why not tie the CEO’s compensation to reversing some of those trends?”

Musk’s X Fined in Canada Over Failure to Remove Intimate Image

/in /tarafından

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has been fined C$100,000 ($72,307) by a Canadian tribunal for failing to remove a non-consensual intimate image, marking the first such penalty against an internet intermediary under British Columbia’s Intimate Image Protection Act.

Case Background

  • The Civil Resolution Tribunal first ruled in March that X must delete and remove the image of a woman identified as “TR”.

  • Instead of removing it, X geofenced the content, blocking it in Canada but keeping it visible worldwide.

  • Tribunal Vice Chair Eric Regehr rejected X’s argument that it lacked authority outside British Columbia, stating the order was straightforward: remove the image.

Tribunal’s Decision

  • Regehr said X’s partial compliance left the victim exposed:

    “She lives in the knowledge that the vast majority of the world’s population can still see the intimate image on X.”

  • The fine imposed was the maximum allowed, with the option for the woman to request additional daily penalties of up to C$5,000 if noncompliance continues.

  • Compensation for the woman’s time was denied, partly due to AI-generated errors in her submissions.

Broader Implications

  • The ruling highlights growing global pressure on platforms like X to act against abusive and exploitative content.

  • British Columbia’s Ministry of Attorney General said it expects X to comply and pay fines, stressing it does not anticipate difficulties in enforcement.

  • X and its legal counsel did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.