On Wednesday, Elon Musk told Tesla investors he envisions a potential future in which engineers from Tesla collaborate with counterparts at Neuralink to create bionic limbs.
According to Fortune, Musk gave the example of a Neuralink implant being installed in a robotic arm or leg and being attached to amputees. He said, "We believe we can give basically a cyborg body that is incredibly capable.”
Not only could patients have restored functionality, but upgrades as Musk said the limbs would be as good and even better than a biological one, at least in the long term.
As for timeline, it could be a while, though Neuralink is at least headed down the right path. The company recently received FDA approval to launch its first in-human clinical study of its implant that connects a patient's nervous system to a computer.
Tesla's robotics capabilities appear to be lagging compared to existing counterparts, but have shown substantial improvement. The first look was a farce, just a person dancing in spandex, and the second was possibly more disheartening as it struggled to stand and move even while tethered. However, this year, the company showed footage of Optimus performing increasingly complex tasks, like picking up objects and placing them in containers.
And who knows, with Mr. Musk's most recent startup xAI, these cyborg limbs could even have their own brains.
