Elon Musk would ultimately turn this quality to his advantage when, after nearly eight years of being quadriplegic, Noland agreed to allow the world’s richest man to implant an electronic chip into his brain.
An accident left Noland Arbaugh paralysed, but Musk’s Neuralink brain implant allows him to control computers with his thoughts.
The blow to Noland’s head didn’t break his neck – it dislocated it, and his vertebra went back into place immediately – but it left his spinal cord severely damaged.
Noland’s injury was around his fourth and fifth vertebrae, so he can move his head and shoulders, and express himself with nods and shrugs, which he often does.
In January 2024, Noland became the first human recipient of a brain-computer interface (BCI) developed by Musk’s company, Neuralink.
