Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant company, is preparing to realize what until recently seemed like science fiction. According to Musk, the company plans to launch “large-scale production” of brain-computer devices and transition to fully automated surgical procedures by 2026.
He announced it on Wednesday on the social media platform X.
Neuralink began human trials in 2024. Previously, the project had raised safety concerns from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); in 2022, the regulator initially rejected the company’s application, and Neuralink was later forced to address the concerns. In September, Neuralink announced that 12 people worldwide with severe paralysis had received implants and were using them to control digital and physical devices “with the power of thought.”
The Neuralink implant is designed primarily for people with severe disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries. The idea is to allow people to interact directly with a computer, bypassing muscles and peripherals . The company’s first patient has already demonstrated that they can use the implant to play video games, surf the internet, post on social media, and move the cursor on a laptop.
At the same time, the company is expanding its resources. In June, Neuralink raised $650 million in funding , and Musk has included expansion plans in a broader set of 2026 goals for several of his businesses.
SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship V3 with a Raptor V3 engine and hopes to conduct in-orbit fuel transfer tests, a critical step for long-range missions to the Moon and Mars. Later that year, SpaceX plans to launch Starlink V3 satellites into orbit, promising greater performance and speed.
Neuralink has a separate milestone planned for 2026, not related to computerized control, but rather to restoring vision. This is the Blindsight implant for the totally blind: the company plans to perform the first patient installation. The system uses ultrathin wires that stimulate the visual cortex and generate perceptions of light and simple shapes.
Taken together, these statements paint 2026 as the time when many of Musk’s projects should move from high promise to scale and reach mass adoption, especially if Neuralink can actually simultaneously scale up production of implants and automate the surgery itself.
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