WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Elon Musk’s brain-implant company Neuralink was fined for violating U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) rules regarding the movement of hazardous materials, according to records from the federal agency reviewed by Reuters.

During inspections of the company’s facilities in Texas and California in February 2023, DOT investigators found the company had failed to register itself as a transporter of hazardous material, the agency’s records show.

They also found improper packaging of hazardous waste, including the flammable liquid Xylene. Xylene can cause headaches, dizziness, confusion, loss of muscle coordination and even death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DOT fined the company a total of $2,480, an amount lower than what was initially assessed because the company agreed to fix the problems, the records show.

    • quindraco@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      At that price point the company might as well just agree to pay it on the regular and go about its business as usual.

    • Fades@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      That’s how regulation in the US works. Just look at how FINRA punishes the elite in the finance sector; fines (rare) that are a minuscule percentage of the profit made.

      Simply the cost of doin biz, and it’s both disgusting and harmful to our nation but this is an oligarchy first and foremost sadly

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    If Elon isn’t first in line once Neuralink bribes their way into approval for their torture chips, I think we’ll all know why.

    Similarly, have you noticed Elon hasn’t taken a single ride on a SpaceX rocket even though he says he wants to go to Mars?

    • kibiz0r@midwest.social
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      9 months ago

      Not to defend the muskrat, but they’ve said they’re focusing on things like spinal injuries and ALS at first, so he definitely won’t be first in line.

      From that standpoint, I get it. If I was paralyzed, I’m not sure what kinds of crazy gambles I’d make to get my body back.

      Now, the Elon fanboys that just wanna dive headfirst into the upcoming dystopia… I don’t get that, and I think sci-fi done fucked up by making cyberpunk dystopias look cool.

    • variants@possumpat.io
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      9 months ago

      To be fair it’s pretty easy to get that fine, not that it’s happened to me but I do have to keep track of some totes of waste water at work and the process is a bit of a pain to label your totes correctly, have the right overpack and all that, finding the proper people to take it to the proper place and if you forget to do your 8 hour class every year on time then you get to do the 24 hour class

      • EmergMemeHologram@startrek.website
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        9 months ago

        That’s good context, just send like every time this company comes up in the news it feels like amateur hour where nobody bothered to learn the rules of his people with experience.

  • don@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    Elon Musk’s brain implant company

    We’re in the wrong timeline

  • zeet@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    To be fair, the workers were probably used to calling it Twitterylene.

  • Fades@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    And nobody is surprised. It’s the same story as the monkeys that were improperly obtained and essentially experimented on to death.

    Fucking disgusting