SAN FRANCISCO, June 16 (Reuters) - Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk expects his brain-chip startup Neuralink to start its first human trial this year, he said on Friday in France. Speaking at the VivaTech event in Paris, co-founder Musk said Neuralink plans to implant a tetraplegic or paraplegic patient during a webcast monitored by Reuters. The FDA acknowledged in an earlier statement to Reuters that the agency cleared Neuralink to use its brain implant and surgical robot for trials but declined to provide more details. On at least four occasions since 2019, Musk predicted that Neuralink would soon start human trials. Neuralink employees who sat on the company's animal board, which has come under federal scrutiny for potential financial conflicts, stood to benefit from the implant's quick development.

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Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Neuralink, didn't, Rachael Levy, Hyunjoo Jin, David Gregorio Our Organizations: FRANCISCO, Billionaire, Reuters, Twitter, SpaceX, Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Department of Transportation, U.S . Department of Agriculture's, Thomson Locations: France, Paris, U.S, Washington, San Francisco