Activists Protest at Elon Musk's Neuralink, Call for End to Animal Experiments

February 15, 2025, FREMONT, CA--On Saturday afternoon, over 50 activists from the Berkeley-based animal rights network, Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), protested outside a Neuralink lab in Fremont to protest the company’s cruel experiments on animals. Neuralink, a company owned by Elon Musk and headquartered in Fremont, has subjected primates and pigs to invasive brain chip implants. Employees have spoken out saying the procedures are “rushed” and cause needless suffering and deaths. Neuralink has killed more than 1500 animals .

Protestors displayed a giant Elon Musk head with a speech bubble reading “I TORTURE MONKEYS” and a banner reading "Stop Elon's Monkey Business." With some activists dressed as monkeys inside cages, others held signs reading “Primates are not prototypes.” Several Bay Area residents, including a former animal experimenter, gave speeches condemning the cruelty and ineffectiveness of animal testing. Scientific studies have shown that primates share profound cognitive and emotional abilities with humans. Protestors urged Musk's company to forego these experiments that come at the cost of primates' lives.

“Elon Musk’s actions are a profound example of the link between animal and human cruelty,” said DxE organizer Carla Cabral. “While animals such as monkeys and pigs are being tortured and killed for Musk’s financial gain, he’s actively spewing hate toward trans people, immigrant communities, and other marginalized groups. And the federal government has shown no willingness to hold Musk accountable, including for Neuralink’s violence against animals. This leaves it to the public to put pressure on Neuralink to end the cruel and unnecessary violence toward animals.”

Some of the activists attempted to deliver a sink to the Neuralink lab---in reference to the sink Musk brought to the Twitter Headquarters to proclaim “Let that sink in.” Security did not accept the sink.

Investigators with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) enter farms, slaughterhouses, and research facilities to document abuses and rescue sick and injured animals. DxE’s investigatory work has been featured in The New York Times,WIRED, and Vox . DxE activists have been subjected to FBI raids and felony prosecutions for their investigative work. In 2022, DxE activists won the first-ever acquittal in an open rescue case. Visit DxE onFacebook, Instagram, Twitter and atdirectactioneverywhere.com.