Elon Musk disbelieves in Metaverse and Web3 and thinks Neuralink is more realistic

Recently in an interview with the Babylon Bee, Elon Musk revealed that he was not interested in Metaverse or Web3. While criticizing Web3 as “more marketing than reality”, Elon Musk made many people skeptical about the possibility of the Metaverse concept: “Sure you can put a TV on your nose.” He added: “I’m not sure that makes you ‘in the metaverse.” Musk thinks it’s impossible to stick a screen on his face all day without taking it off and it is not comfortable at all. “It gets uncomfortable to have this thing strapped to your head the whole time. […] I think we’re far from disappearing into the metaverse.”

In contrast to his disbelief in Metaverse, Elon Musk is quite hopeful about Neuralink, the concept of implanting a chip in the brain that enables people to operate computers and control machines with their thoughts. He believes that this is a more realistic way of helping people in fully integrating into the virtual world: “Long term, a sophisticated Neuralink could put you fully, fully in a virtual reality thing,”

Elon Musk’s statements are somewhat contradictory to the expectations that Meta – Facebook’s parent company visualized for its users when deciding to change the company’s name from Facebook to Meta. According to Meta, connecting with people in the virtual space of Metaverse through the use of headsets would allow users overcome the spatial barrier and enjoy experiences that are much like those they would have in the real world.

However, in a recent interview with the Financial Times, even Nick Clegg, Head of Global Affairs and Communications at Meta, admitted the limitations of the company’s Metaverse solution: “If I’m lifting my head, it’s because I’m drinking my coffee and this wretched headset is too bulky for me to drink my coffee without moving my headset”.

In terms of compactness, Elon Musk’s Neuralink seems to be a better solution when it is just a small chip implanted in the host. 

Newralink was founded by Elon Musk in 2016. The company’s solution has been tested on monkeys and seems to have succeeded in enabling this monkey play MindPong just by thinking about moves.

You can watch Elon Musk’s full interview with the Babylon Bee below: