Musk believes the human trial for the vision implant could start within 2026, but users online are less optimistic about this timeframe.
Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company, Neuralink, will soon begin human trials of an implant for vision.
The company's founder shared with technology startup accelerator Y Combinator that in the coming six to 12 months, the company will conduct trials for its vision implants. They’re designed to work for people who are completely blind.
According to Musk, the implant has already been tested on a monkey that has had it for three years. He also revealed that once the implant is inserted, the vision has low resolution but improves with time.
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on digital superintelligence, multiplanetary life, and how to be useful this week at AI Startup School. pic.twitter.com/CDEoFKAzQI
undefined Y Combinator (@ycombinator) June 19, 2025
He also shared that those with an implant will be able to see not only in high resolution but also in multi-wavelength, reports Men’s Journal.
Musk continued stating that Neuralink’s “Blindsight” implant lets users see ultraviolet rays and infrared.
The news about Neuralink’s new type of vision impairment technology started a discussion online.
“Hard to take it seriously when he starts saying bullshit like it will surpass current vision,” wrote one user on Reddit, also pointing a fact that similar implant has already been tested on humans by Pixium Vision.
“He lies about every single capability and estimated deadline for his companies’ projects, always… from lunar transit, to safe autonomous driving, to the ‘robust and reliable’ cyber truck,” added another Redditor.
“Black Mirror Season 4 Episode 2,” wrote another Redditor, referring to the TV show’s episode Arkangel, where a mother invests in an implant that allows her to see the world through her daughter’s eyes, this way keeping tabs on her, depicting to what extremes such technology could lead.
Elon Musk's Neuralink to Test Eye Implant to Restore Vision in 2026
byu/Separate-Way5095 ingadgets
Many users were also triggered by Musk’s promise to bring the implant to trial within the next year.
“Next year? Is this the first time they’ve mentioned this thing? If so, it’s about as likely to materialize next year as the Roadster is,” shared a user, with another user adding: “That's Elon's default timeline. Everything is coming next year.”
“We'll have full self-driving by 2016. Be on Mars by 2024... Everything is always next year, or just around the corner,” noted another user.
Some users joked about the situation by remembering Musk’s past projects that weren’t that successful.
“Hope it doesn’t explode like his rocket ships,” wrote one Redditor.
Neuralink has already been working on the testing of its brain implant. Noland Arbaugh was the first person to receive Neuralink’s brain-computer interface implant, which allows him to control a computer with his brain.
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