Not all San Franciscans are keen for Musk’s friendship.

People over the weekend recorded video of the giant X glowing, pulsing and strobing, with some criticising its intrusive lights.

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Neuralink approved for in-human study

Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-implant company, said on Thursday it had received a green light from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to kickstart its first in-human clinical study, a critical milestone after earlier struggles to gain approval. 

 Musk has predicted on at least four occasions since 2019 that his medical device company would begin human trials for a brain implant to treat severe conditions such as paralysis and blindness.

Yet the company, founded in 2016, only sought FDA approval in early 2022 – and the agency rejected the application, seven current and former employees told Reuters in March. The FDA had pointed out several concerns to Neuralink that needed to be addressed before sanctioning human trials, according to the employees. 

Major issues involved the lithium battery of the device, the possibility of the implant’s wires migrating within the brain and the challenge of safely extracting the device without damaging brain tissue. Thursday’s FDA approval comes as US lawmakers are urging regulators to investigate whether the make-up of a panel overseeing animal testing at Neuralink contributed to botched and rushed experiments. Neuralink has already been the subject of federal investigations.

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Trevor Noah on Musk and Twitter

Trevor Noah processed Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter on Monday night’s Daily Show, after the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO bought the social media company for $44bn.

 Twitter’s board had previously said they wouldn’t sell, “I guess they found that edit button after all,” Noah quipped. “This is actually a historic moment: this is the first time anyone at Twitter has changed their mind about anything,” he added. 

Noah wondered why Musk would want to own Twitter, as “it just doesn’t seem like a fun place to supervise right now. It’s like buying Jurassic Park after the power went down and the cages were opened.” But “by buying Twitter, Elon Musk gets to own one of the most culturally influential publishing platforms in the world”, he explained.

 “I mean remember this, think about it. Twitter is how the Arab spring took off, right? Black Lives Matter blew up on Twitter. The #MeToo movement started on Twitter. Trump used Twitter to turn himself from a reality show joke into the 45th president of the United States and a joke.

 So owning Twitter gives you more power than the dru store employee with the key to the deodorant shelf.” Whether you’re into Elon Musk or not, “you’ve gotta admit, it’s pretty crazy that one man is now in control in all of that,” Noah concluded. As a private company “everything that happens on Twitter from now on is up to him. And also whatever strain his weed guy gives him that day. 

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