Nolan Arbaugh, the first patient with a Neuralink brain implant, recently spoke about his recovery and disclosed a memorable video call he had with Elon Musk. He described the billionaire as 'being cool as hell' during their conversation.
A powerful demonstration of both innovation and human resilience took place at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference. Using only his mind, Noland Arbaugh — the first person to get Neuralink's brain-computer interface (BCI) chip — played a game of chess.
Providing a frank account of his life-altering experience, Arbaugh also described his memorable initial meeting with Elon Musk, Neuralink's co-founder and the world's richest man.
A Life Transformed by a Single Phone Call
In 2016, a diving accident at a summer camp marked the beginning of Arbaugh's journey. It left the former Texas A&M student paralysed from the shoulders down and mostly reliant on his family for care. Arbaugh described living a severely restricted life for many years.
He told Fortune senior writer Jessica Mathews, 'I would stay up all hours of [the] night, just sleep in whenever, wake up whenever I wanted to because I didn't really have anything planned, didn't have anything going on in my life.'
Arbaugh recalled only leaving his house a couple of times a year. He said, 'Before Neuralink, I thought I would never travel again', he said. '[I] thought I would just stay in my room'.
From 'Nothing Better to Do' to a New Beginning
His life then took an unexpected turn with a phone call. A friend wanted to know if he was interested in getting a chip implanted in his brain, to which Arbaugh's memorable reply was, 'I said, "Got nothing better to do."'
The technology from Neuralink, a company that Elon Musk helped establish in 2016, was developed and tested on animals for years before it was given US FDA approval to start human trials in May 2023.
Neuralink Breakthrough- “It’s Physically Possible to Restore Full Body Functionality” — Elon Musk pic.twitter.com/dAS2VMAZQS
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) September 15, 2025
Arbaugh had his surgery on January 28, 2024, at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, which is about two and a half hours away from his home in Yuma. The two-hour operation involved implanting a coin-sized chip just under his skull, which is connected to over 1,000 electrodes. These electrodes can read his brain signals and translate them into digital commands.
Arbaugh said he went home just 24 hours after his surgery with a prescription for pain medicine, but he insisted he never even needed to take Tylenol. 'It didn't hurt at all', he said. 'I like to joke and tell people that if I lost my memory and tomorrow you told me I had a chip in my brain, I wouldn't believe you. I can't feel it. Don't even know it's there', he added.
Meeting the Billionaire and Proving the Tech
Arbaugh revealed a particularly memorable detail during his conversation with Mathews: He had a FaceTime meeting with Elon Musk on the same day as his surgery. With the anaesthesia not yet fully worn off, Arbaugh's clearest memory of the encounter was telling Musk he liked his bomber jacket. He remembered thinking, 'his bomber jacket was so cool.'
About six months later, Arbaugh met Musk again at Tesla's Austin gigafactory. There, the 31-year-old implant patient said they had a more meaningful conversation. 'He's a cool dude', said Arbaugh, who mentioned their discussion wasn't limited to Neuralink.
Onstage at Fortune #BrainstormTech, Noland Arbaugh (@ModdedQuad), Neuralink’s first brain chip recipient shared the story of meeting @elonmusk, saying that he's a "cool dude." https://t.co/E5reVqRCBT pic.twitter.com/8cbxrOCxpO
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) September 15, 2025
He and Musk 'just had some fun' and discussed SpaceX, even touching on a 'bit of, like, alien talk.'
Following his discussion with Mathews, the Brainstorm Tech crowd saw a live demonstration of Arbaugh's abilities with his implant. He played a game of chess against internationally recognised master Anna Cramling, controlling the computer's cursor entirely through thought.
From Limited Existence to Limitless Possibilities
The match, which was streamed live on Chess.com, revealed Arbaugh moving pieces and executing complex strategies using only his thoughts. 'I am just thinking about where I want the cursor to go', Arbaugh explained to the audience.
'It is pretty simple. Not very difficult. I think people are going to be surprised at how intuitive the cursor control is.'
Onstage at Fortune #BrainstormTech, Neuralink’s first-ever human brain chip implant patient, Noland Arbaugh (@ModdedQuad), faced off against Women’s FIDE Master and chess content creator @AnnaCramling in a chess match—using only his thoughts to play. https://t.co/Im8XgqES7e pic.twitter.com/LOjP20nSMz
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) September 10, 2025
Arbaugh said the technology has completely transformed his view of life. He's since gone back to school for a neuroscience degree, started his own business, and is now travelling a lot, including trips to Paris and various cities across the US. He describes himself as 'so busy all the time', a stark difference from his life before the Neuralink implant.
"My whole reason for doing it was just to help people," Neuralink’s first-ever human brain chip implant patient, Noland Arbaugh (@ModdedQuad), told Fortune #BrainstormTech. https://t.co/L5AlG04ogi pic.twitter.com/CRHt3PANB7
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) September 10, 2025
As he continues to be a spokesperson for brain-computer interface technology, Arbaugh told Mathews, 'My whole reason for doing it was just to help people from the beginning. I knew that if it worked, if it didn't, whatever the case may be, I would be helping someone, and [Neuralink] would have learned something.'
