Unusual Whales

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has fired at least 20 employees who were involved in reviewing Elon Musk's brain implant company, Neuralink

Unusual Whales -

Several FDA employees reviewing Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant company, were dismissed over the weekend as part of a broader effort to reduce the federal workforce, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

FDA Neurological Devices Division Hit by Cuts

The layoffs affected around 20 employees from the FDA’s Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices, the sources revealed. This division oversees clinical trial applications for Neuralink and other brain-computer interface (BCI) developers.

Both sources clarified that the dismissed employees were not specifically targeted for their work on Neuralink, but rather as part of a larger workforce reduction.

However, experts warn that losing these key staff members will slow down the FDA’s ability to review medical device applications, including those from Neuralink.

“It’s intimidating to the FDA professionals overseeing Neuralink’s trial,” said Victor Krauthamer, a former FDA official with three decades of experience.

“We should be worried about the whole trial and the protection of the people in it.”

The FDA, White House, and Musk have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Neuralink’s Human Trials and Regulatory Scrutiny

Neuralink is currently conducting human trials of its brain implant, which enables paralyzed individuals to control digital devices using only their thoughts. The company is also developing an implant to restore vision, which received a special FDA designation to accelerate its development and review process.

While Neuralink’s applications have faced strict FDA scrutiny, Musk has been a strong advocate for cutting government spending, including within agencies that regulate his businesses, such as Tesla and SpaceX.

Mass Layoffs Raise Concerns About Oversight

According to sources, the dismissed FDA employees were on probationary status, meaning they had been in their roles for less than one or two years and had fewer legal protections.

Despite being highly rated in performance reviews, these employees were let go without consulting their supervisors, who only learned of the cuts from their subordinates.

Musk, who has spent over $280 million supporting Donald Trump’s re-election, has pushed for cost-cutting measures across federal agencies, including those regulating his companies.

With key regulatory staff now gone, experts worry about the integrity and speed of Neuralink’s approval process, as well as the safety of its clinical trials moving forward.