Paris, FRANCE — Tech billionaire Elon Musk has snubbed a voluntary interview summons by French prosecutors, failing to appear in Paris on Monday, April 20, 2026, to answer questions regarding suspected criminal activities on his social media platform, X.
The Paris Court of Justice had summoned both Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino as part of a sprawling investigation first launched in 2025.
Okay News reports that the probe, which saw the company’s Paris offices raided by a cyber-crime unit in February, focuses on allegations of Holocaust denial, political interference, and the creation of non-consensual sexual deepfakes using X’s AI chatbot, Grok.
The Paris prosecutor’s office issued a statement on Monday noting the absence of the individuals summoned but clarified that their failure to attend “is not an obstacle to continuing the investigation.” Musk has previously dismissed the probe as a “political attack” and a “vendetta against Americans.”
The investigation into X and xAI has intensified following reports that Grok was being used to generate and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and fraudulent data. The European Union and the United Kingdom have also opened parallel investigations into the platform’s safety protocols and algorithmic transparency.
Adding a diplomatic layer to the conflict, the U.S. Justice Department reportedly informed French authorities on Saturday, April 18, that it would not assist in the investigation, accusing France of misusing the U.S. justice system. Musk endorsed this stance on X, writing that the international legal pressure “needs to stop.”
This is not the first time the Tesla CEO has avoided legal summons; he famously missed a court-ordered appearance in Los Angeles in September 2024 during an SEC investigation into his acquisition of Twitter. Despite the snub, French prosecutors indicated they are prepared to move forward with potential charges related to infringement of image rights and fraudulent data extraction.
