Elon Musk stated that the first visual implants will occur within the next 6 to 12 months; even those who are completely blind from birth can have signals directly written into the visual cortex to produce vision. The long-term goal is ultra-high resolution, with the ability to see infrared, ultraviolet, and even radar, described as superhero-like capabilities.

The product line is called Blindsight, following the cortical visual prosthesis path: an external camera captures scenes, and the implant stimulates the intact visual cortex, bypassing the eyeball and optic nerve. The premise is that the cortex itself can still be driven. Musk mentioned that a monkey's visual implant has been functioning for about three years; in September 2024, the FDA granted breakthrough device designation, which accelerates review but does not equate to market approval.

He has repeatedly compared the first-generation visuals to early gaming consoles or Atari-level low resolution, with high resolution and multispectral capabilities being the path of subsequent electrode density and stimulation algorithms, rather than the immediate experience of the first test subjects. In January 2026, the company announced during the two-year update of Telepathy that it is ready for the first human Blindsight implant, awaiting final regulatory approval; the Austin factory plans to increase N1 production and advance automated surgeries.

Similar cortical solutions include Cortigent's Orion, which are still in the experimental stage, with no large-scale randomized controlled public data available. For those who are blind from birth, the results are more uncertain due to potential cortical reorganization compared to patients who became blind later but still retain a visual map.

Mechanically, the buyers are blind individuals whose optic nerves or eyeballs are destroyed but whose cortex remains intact, along with the trial centers, while the sellers are Neuralink, which possesses robotic implantation and electrode bundle technology. The event is driven by the founder's timeline, with funding coming from medical device financing and subsequent surgical capacity; beneficiaries are the centers entering the first trial cohort, while those under pressure are the regulators and clinical sides still waiting for approval, unable to treat the breakthrough designation as proof of efficacy.

Public information has not disclosed the number of initial human subjects, the final list of trial locations, nor provided human data for infrared, ultraviolet, and radar channels.

Source: Public Information