A former Neuralink employee has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk's brain implant company following an incident with a monkey that was carrying Herpes.
Lindsay Short claims she was fired from Neuralink after she informed her superiors that she was pregnant. More specifically, Short described a hostile work environment that was plagued with "blame, shame, and impossible deadlines". Additionally, the former Neuralink employee said she was scratched through a glove by a monkey that was carrying the Herpes B virus. Short said she was never provided the appropriate protective equipment to work with Neuralink's test animals.
The lawsuit also states that her superiors threatened her with "severe repercussions" if she were to insist medical treatment again from the scratch. Furthermore, Short said she was fired from the company a day after she informed staff that she was pregnant but was promoted just two months earlier. It should be noted that Neuralink has undergone some public scrutiny regarding its testing methods, and treatment of its test animals.
Elon Musk responded to the claims at the time, which said Neuralink monkeys suffered from brain swelling, partial paralysis, and self-harming behavior. Musk said that all monkeys used in Neuralink testing were terminally ill. However, no evidence was provided to back up Musk's clarification.