Month: December 2022

Enlarge / Pager, a nine-year-old Macaque, plays MindPong with his Neuralink. (credit: YouTube/NeuraLink)

Elon Musk's brain-computer interface company Neuralink is under investigation by the US Department of Agriculture for possible animal welfare violations amid allegations from current and former employees that the company abused animals in slapdash research leading to "hack job" surgeries spurred by Musk's rushed timelines.

That's all according to an exclusive investigation published late Monday by Reuters, which reviewed internal Neuralink documents and records and interviewed over 20 current and former Neuralink employees.

According to Reuters, the USDA Inspector General opened an investigation into Neuralink in recent months at the request of a federal prosecutor. The investigation focuses on possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act, which regulates the treatment of animals involved in research and other activities and is enforced by the USDA. Reuters was unable to determine the full scope of the investigation. The USDA inspector general declined to comment on Reuter's investigation. Regulatory filings show that Neuralink has passed previous USDA inspections.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

For some years now, the tech industry has been transforming the automobile. We often hear that consumers, enamored with their new smartphones, want some of that same functionality in their new car. Less is said about investors who have grown rich from software companies that sell a product and then charge customers a subscription or fee to unlock certain features. They really do want that functionality in their car company investments, so the era of being offered paid upgrades to your car is here whether you want it or not.

Today, Polestar announced a power upgrade for owners of the long-range, dual-motor Polestar 2, whose two motors generated an equal 201 hp (150 kW) for a combined 402 hp (300 kW). That's more than sufficient to make the dual-motor Polestar 2 a quick car, befitting the new brand's stated identity of being focused on electric performance cars.

The only problem is those electric Volvos that share the Polestar 2's CMA platform. Both the Volvo C40 and XC40 have dual-motor battery-electric vehicles that, just like the Polestar 2, offer a combined 402 hp. With cars so utterly defined by the software that controls them, it's easier than it used to be to give them different driving personalities. But perhaps to create a bit more differentiation, Polestar has always offered a performance pack.